Simple synthesis of high-quality CdS nanowires using Au nanoparticles as catalyst

•First successful CVD synthesis of CdS nanowires using Au nanoparticles as catalyst.•Our CdS nanowires have average diameter of 25 nm and average length of 1.46 μm.•Our synthesis resulted in CdS nanowires only without producing nanorods and nanobelts.

CdS nanowires were synthesized using a simple synthesis process using Au nanoparticles (average diameter: 13 nm) as catalyst. The growth conditions were optimized by varying the substrate temperature and the growth time of a thermal chemical-vapor-deposition system. CdS nanowires were successfully grown at temperatures above 480 °C. In fact, high-quality nanowires, with hexagonal wurtzite structures and an average diameter of 25 nm and length of 1.46 μm, were obtained after a 30-min synthesis at a growth temperature of 520 °C. Electron microscope images revealed that our CdS nanowires, grown at relatively lower growth temperatures, have higher average-aspect-ratio and smaller average-diameter than those previously reported in the literature. Our synthesis method resulted in CdS nanowires only without producing nanorods and nanobelts, which make it unnecessary to filter and purify nanowires from the mixture of nanowires, nanorods, and nanobelts.