Probing the Mechanism of Cadmium Sulfide Cluster Nucleation and Growth via Sequential Infiltration Synthesis
Nuwanthaka P. Jayaweera·Alex B. F. Martinson·Gethmini K. Jayasekara·Taylor Harville·Ashley R. Bielinski·Shana Havenridge·YK Kim·Cong Liu·Karen L. Mulfort·Michael W. Mara
Few-atom metal chalcogenide clusters may be realized through the sequential infiltration of metal–organic precursors in polymer films. However, the underlying nucleation and growth mechanisms that allow for cluster synthesis with near atomic-scale precision are not fully resolved. The kinetics of the sequential infiltration synthesis (SIS) method that control the nucleation and growth mechanisms of primarily Cd4S4-core clusters within a poly(4-vinylpyridine) (P4VP) matrix are probed with in situ