Controllable synthesis of CdS nanowire by a facile solvothermal method and its temperature dependent photoluminescent property

•Ultra-long CdS nanowires with high quality were synthesized by solvothermal method.•The influences of reaction conditions on the PL property of CdS nanowires were thoroughly studied.•Low temperature PL properties reveal that CdS nanowires were as better as bulk CdS.

CdS nanowires with controllable size, orientation, and morphology were synthesized on a large scale by a solvothermal method. The mechanism for the formation of CdS nanowires evolved from CdS spherical particles can be divided into a short-period solid–solid transformation process and a long-period ripening process. Near-band-emission without distinct split phenomenon was observed in the PL spectrum of CdS nanowires at 10 K. The best fit results based on Varshni empirical equation support our assignment of FX. Temperature dependent integrated peak intensity and linewidth of FX were analyzed by means of a two-step quenching process model and well fitted by Toyozawa's theory. All fitted results including thermal activation energy, LO-phonon energy were close to that observed in bulk CdS, indicating high quality of nanomaterial but also revealing its promising applications in photonics.