Cation exchange: a simple and versatile route to inorganic colloidal spheres with the same size but different compositions and properties

This paper describes a cation exchange approach to the synthesis of metal chalcogenide core-shell particles with the same size but a number of different compositions. This method begins with the preparation of colloidal spheres of amorphous Se (a-Se), followed by their reaction with Ag atoms to form Se@Ag2Se spheres. These core-shell spheres are then converted into Se@MSe (M = Zn, Cd, and Pb) via cation exchange with Zn2+, Cd2+, and Pb2+. All the colloidal spheres prepared using this method are monodispersed in size and characterized by a spherical shape and a smooth surface. Starting from the same batch of Se@Ag2Se, the resultant Se@MSe samples were essentially the same in size. Furthermore, these core-shell colloidal spheres can be easily made superparamagnetic by incorporating Fe3O4 nanoparticles into the a-Se cores. This synthetic approach provides a simple and versatile route to magnetoactive core-shell spheres with the same size but a range of different compositions. This study also implies that it is feasible to further increase the diversity of cations that can be used in the cation exchange of a colloidal system to produce multifunctional core-shell spheres with a variety of properties.