Synthesis, structural and optical properties of Sm3+ and Nd3+ doped cadmium sulfide nanocrystals

•Cubic phase lanthanide ion doped cadmium sulfide nanocrystals were prepared by co-precipitation method.•HRTEM displays randomly aggregated nanoparticles with well-defined lattice fringes.•Energy gap and optical properties were affected by the different doping ions.•Effect of Sm and Nd ion doping on photo-emission of CdS nanocrystals was clarified.

Cubic phase samarium (Sm3+) and neodymium (Nd3+) doped cadmium sulfide nanocrystals were synthesized through the chemical co-precipitation method. The crystallite size computed with high intense (1 1 1) peak using Scherrer formula was ∼3 nm. Morphology was examined with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images further established the formation of nanoclusters and EDAX spectra confirms the presence of cadmium, sulphide and rare earth elements in the sample. SAED pattern shows the crystallinity of the synthesized sample. Blue shift in the bandgap energy in the reflectance UV spectra, illustrates size quantization effect and dopant ion incorporation into the host lattice. The effect of doping concentrations of Sm3+ and Nd3+ on the luminescence spectra of CdS was studied. The emission spectra revealed that the intensity increased considerably in the presence of dopant ions. The variation in the optical properties and the enhancement in the luminescence were discussed for different doping levels.

Graphical abstractSamarium (Sm3+) and neodymium (Nd3+) doped cadmium sulfide nanocrystals have been prepared via precipitation method. The structural and the luminescent properties of the as-synthesised nanocrystals have been discussed.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide