Experimental Determination of the Extinction Coefficient of CdTe, CdSe, and CdS Nanocrystals

The extinction coefficient per mole of nanocrystals at the first exitonic absorption peak, ε, for high-quality CdTe, CdSe, and CdS nanocrystals was found to be strongly dependent on the size of the nanocrystals, between a square and a cubic dependence. The measurements were carried out using either nanocrystals purified with monitored purification procedures or nanocrystals prepared through controlled etching methods. The nature of the surface ligands, the refractive index of the solvents, the PL quantum yield of the nanocrystals, the methods used for the synthesis of the nanocrystals, and the temperature for the measurements all did not show detectable influence on the extinction coefficient for a given sized nanocrystal within experimental error.