Patent ID: 7670584

Claim:
A method for forming colloidal metal chalcogenide nanoparticles, comprising: combining a hydrazine-based inorganic metal chalcogen cluster single source precursor and a surfactant in a solution; and heating the solution to a temperature effective to decompose the hydrazine-based inorganic metal chalcogen cluster single source precursor and form the colloidal metal chalcogenide nanoparticles, wherein the hydrazine-based metal chalcogen cluster single source precursor is formed by a process comprising: dissolving a metal and a chalcogen or a combination of chalcogens in a hydrazine solvent, wherein the hydrazine solvent is represented by the formula: R 1 R 2 N—NR 3 R 4 , wherein each of R 1 , R 2 , R 3 and R 4 is independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, aryl, methyl ethyl, linear alkyl of 3-6 carbon atoms, branched alkyl of 3-6 carbon atoms and cyclic alkyl of 3-6 carbon atoms; and removing substantially all of the solvent to form the hydrazine-based inorganic metal chalcogen cluster single source precursor in a solid form.