Synthesis, structural and optical properties of TOPO and HDA capped cadmium sulphide nanocrystals, and the effect of capping ligand concentration

Abstract

The thermal decomposition of bis(N,N-diallyldithiocarbamato)Cd(II) in a "one-pot" synthesis in tri-n-octylphosphine oxide (TOPO) and hexadecylamine (HDA) afforded CdS (TOPO-CdS and HDA-CdS) of varying optical properties and morphologies. The influence of the ratio of the precursor concentration to the capping molecule, as a factor affecting the morphology and size of the nanoparticles, was investigated. The particles varied in shape from spheres to rods and show quantum size effects in their optical spectra with clear differences in the photoluminescence (PL) spectra. The PL spectrum of the HDA capped CdS nanoparticles has an emission maximum centred at 468, 472, and 484 nm for the precursor to HDA concentration ratio of 1 : 10, 1 : 15, and 1 : 20, respectively, while the TOPO capped nanoparticles show emission peaks at 483, 494, and 498 nm at the same concentration ratio. Powdered X-ray diffraction (p-XRD) shows the nanoparticles to be hexagonal. The crystallinity of the nanoparticles was evident from high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) which gave well-defined images of particles with clear lattice fringes.