Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 February 2011
Germanium nanocrystals have been synthesized using a low-pressure, nonthermal plasma approach. The nanocrystal size can be adjusted between 4-20 nm by varying the plasma parame-ters, and the size distribution is relatively narrow with standard deviations of 10-20% of the av-erage crystal size. Stable colloidal solutions of the germanium crystals have been prepared by grafting organic alkene ligands onto the nanocrystal surfaces. When drop-cast from solution onto TEM grids, the nanocrystals form densely packed films.