Cd1-xMnxS Diluted Magnetic Semiconductors as Nanostructured Guest Species in Mesoporous Thin-Film Silica Host Media

Recently, we demonstrated the possibility of synthesizing ordered nanowires of diluted magnetic II/VI semiconductors inside the channels of mesoporous silica host structures. Here, we expand this procedure from mesoporous powders to mesoporous thin films. Diluted magnetic semiconductors Cd1-xMnxS were synthesized within the pores of mesoporous thin-film silica host structures by a wet-impregnation technique using an aqueous solution of the respective metal acetates, followed by drying steps and a conversion to sulfide by thermal H2S treatment. The presence of Cd1-xMnxS nanoparticles inside the pores was proved by powder X-ray diffraction, infrared and Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Photoluminescence excitation measurements clearly demonstrate the quantum size effect of the incorporated nanostructured guest species. The quality of the nanoparticles incorporated into the mesoporous films is comparable to that of those inside the mesoporous powders.