Confinement of Cd₃P₂ nanoparticles inside ordered pore channels in mesoporous silica

Nano-sized Cd₃P₂ has been confined inside the pore channels of MCM-41 by a surface modification method. XRD, TEM, N₂ adsorption/desorption, UV-vis absorption and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, elemental analysis and XPS techniques were used to characterize the Cd₃P₂/MCM-41 composites. Cd₃P₂ nanoclusters were mostly confined and dispersed in the channels of mesoporous hosts. Their growth was clearly restrained by the channels and their size was estimated to be around 1.5 nm. Massive blue-shifts in the UV-vis absorption and room temperature PL spectra from Cd₃P₂ nanoclusters were observed. The results of fluorescence decay time measurement show that the nature of the photoluminescence of Cd₃P₂/MCM-41 can be mainly attributed to intrinsic radiation of Cd₃P₂ nanoparticles.