Effect of surface on the optical structure and thermal properties of organically capped CdS nanoparticles

Cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanoparticles were synthesized by a novel wet chemical route with various organic thiol stabilizers. Systematic experimental studies, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, and time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL), have evidenced that the stability, crystallinity, and optical properties of the CdS nanoparticles are affected by the organic groups which generate significant effects in surface reconstruction. Particle size was evaluated from UV-vis spectroscopy using the effective mass approximation (EMA) method and from XRD patterns based on Scherrer׳s formula. The S-H vibrations are not detectable in the infrared (IR) spectra of any of the bound ligands, which are expected for thiols covalently bound to the surface of nanoparticles. PL studies reveal that the emission from the nanostructures is not much influenced by the surface states, indicating a good passivation of the particle׳s surface. The time-resolved measurements reveal a biexponential decay behavior. The fast decay component is attributed to the recombination of core states, while the slow decay component of PL is associated with the charge-carrier recombination process with the involvement of surface states.