Solvothermal synthesis of CdS nanorods using poly(vinyl butyral-co-vinyl alcohol-co-vinyl acetate) as a capping agent in ethylenediamine solvent

One-dimension (1D) cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanorods were successfully synthesized using cadmium nitrate (Cd(NO3)2) and thiourea (NH2CSNH2) as starting materials and poly(vinyl butyral-co-vinyl alcohol-co-vinyl acetate) as a capping agent in ethylenediamine as a solvent by solvothermal reaction at 200 °C for 24 and 72 h. The phase, morphology, atomic vibration and optical property of the products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy and UV–visible spectroscopy. In the present research, the products were wurtzite hexagonal CdS nanorods growing along the [001] direction, with the 1LO and 2LO vibration modes at 298 and 597 cm− 1 and the absorption peak centered at 486 nm.

Graphical abstractCdS nanorods with 486 nm absorption wavelength (2.55 eV).Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideHighlights► CdS nanorods as a wide band-gap II–VI semiconductor. ► They were solvothermally synthesized in the solution containing a capping polymer. ► The promising nanorods with an absorption peak centered at 486 nm.