Disorder of solid solution of CdyZn1-y nanosized particles prepared in reverse micelles

We point out here the structural disorder in CdyZn1-yS Solid solution nanoparticles by using transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure techniques. A zinc blende structure is deduced from transmission electron microscopy. This is not confirmed by X-ray diffraction and is explained in terms of structural disorder der. From the disappearance of the second neighbor signal and the observed data for first neighbors in EXAFS, it is concluded that there is angular disorder between bonds on the same atom. Furthermore, the percentage of cadmium atoms at the interface is higher than that of zinc atoms. An increase in the dangling bond for the cadmium and a high coordination number for zinc is observed. We discuss the origin of these findings and their expected consequences. (C) 1997 Acta Metallurgica Inc.