TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Components: The metal precursor is: an organometallic compound having an element including zinc, cadmium, mercury, lead, tin, germanium, gallium, indium, thallium, scandium, titanium, vanadium, chromium, manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper, yttrium, zirconium, niobium, molybdenum, technetium, palladium, silver, platinum, gold and/or their salts; and gallium acetylacetonate, gallium chloride, gallium fluoride, gallium oxide, gallium nitrate, gallium sulfate, indium acetate, indium acetylacetonate, indium chloride, indium oxide, indium nitrate, indium sulfate, thallium acetate, thallium acetylacetonate, thallium chloride, thallium oxide, thallium ethoxide, thallium nitrate, thallium sulfate, thallium carbonate and/or their alloys. The metal phosphide nanocrystals: comprise a metal phosphide compound including aluminum phosphide, indium phosphide, gallium phosphide, zinc phosphide, cadmium phosphide, manganese phosphide, ferric phosphide, ferrous phosphide, cobalt phosphide and/or nickel phosphide; and have a shape of a sphere, rod, tripod, tetrapod, cube, box and/or star. The solvent includes primary alkyl amines, secondary alkyl amines, heterocyclic compounds containing at least one nitrogen or sulfur atom, alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, trioctylphosphine, trioctylphosphine oxide, polar primary alcohols, secondary alcohols, tertiary alcohols, ketones and esters and/or their aqueous solutions. Preferred Method: The step of reacting the mixture to grow metal phosphide nanocrystals is conducted at 200-350 degrees C. EXAMPLE - Octadecene (10 g), oleic acid (0.2 g) and indium acetate (0.2 mmol) were placed in a flask equipped with a reflux condenser. The mixture was reacted with stirring until the reaction temperature reaches to 300 degrees C. Triethylphosphite (70 mu l)) was dissolved in octadecene (1 ml) to prepare a solution. The solution was rapidly added to the reaction mixture. The mixture was reacted with stirring for an hour. After the completion of the reaction, the reaction temperature was cooled to room temperature as quickly as possible. Ethanol as a non-solvent was added to the cooled reaction mixture, and the resulting mixture was centrifuged. The resulting precipitate was dispersed in toluene (5 ml) to yield a solution of indium phosphide nanocrystals.