ZnSe nanostructures: Synthesis, properties and applications

As an important II–VI semiconductor, ZnSe is one of the first semiconductors discovered and is probably one of the most important electronic and optoelectronic materials with prominent applications in nonlinear optical devices, flat panel displays, light emitting diodes, lasers, logic gates, transistors, etc. In this article, we will provide a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art research activities that focus on the rational synthesis, novel properties and unique applications of ZnSe nanostructures. We begin with a historical background of ZnSe, description of its structure, chemical and electronic properties, and its unique advantages in specific potential applications. This is followed by a survey of ZnSe nanostructures with various morphologies and their corresponding synthesis methods. Using various facile methods or techniques, nanoparticles, nanowires, nanobelts/nanoribbons, nanosheets, nanotubes, core/shell nanostructures, hierarchical nanostructures and heterostructures of ZnSe have been synthesized under specific growth conditions so far. Then, we discuss the critical experiments determining the optical and electrical properties of the nanostructures, as crucially they changes with synthetic conditions. Next, we highlight the recent achievements regarding to the potential applications of ZnSe nanostructures in light emitting diodes (LEDs), lasers, field emitters, photodetectors, sensors, photocatalysis, solar cells, vivo imaging, and so on. Finally, we conclude this review with some perspectives and outlook on the future developments in this area. Overall, this comprehensive review presents a systematic investigation on the controlled synthesis, novel properties and advanced applications of ZnSe nanostructures.