Colloidal synthesis of monodispersed ZnS and CdS nanocrystals from novel zinc and cadmium complexes

• Heteroleptic complexes of Zn(II) and Cd(II) were synthesized.
• The spectroscopic and thermal properties of the complexes were studied.
• TGA showed that the compounds decomposed to give their respective metal sulfides as final residue.
• Monodispersed ZnS and CdS nanoparticles were prepared from the metal complexes.

Monodispersed spherical and hexagonal shaped ZnS and CdS nanocrystals respectively, have been synthesized using novel heteroleptic complexes of xanthate (S2CObu) and dithiocarbamate (S2CNMePh). The nanocrystals were prepared via colloidal route and stabilized in hexadecylamine (HDA). The morphology of the as-prepared nanocrystals was characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and powdered X-ray diffraction (p-XRD) analysis. An average diameter of 7.2 nm and 8.6 nm were obtained for the ZnS and CdS respectively. The optical properties of the nanoparticles studied by UV–vis and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy showed a blue shift in the absorption spectra, and band edge emission respectively.

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