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Controllable synthesis of CdS quantum dots and their photovoltaic application on quantum-dot-sensitized ZnO nanorods

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Abstract

Water-dispersible l-cysteine (l-cys)-capped cadmium sulfide (CdS) quantum dots (QDs) with a cubic structure and excellent crystallinity are synthesized by a one-pot method in aqueous solution, and the dots are subsequently used to grow QD-decorated zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorod (NR) heterostructures by the direct adsorption technique. Adjustment of the reaction time from 0.5 to 9 h allows tuning of the size of the synthesized CdS QDs from 2.30 to 2.78 nm. Quantum size effects lead to red shifting of the CdS QD absorption peak from 385 to 418 nm. The photoconversion efficiency (η) of CdS QD-sensitized ZnO NRs is enhanced by 250 % compared with that of unmodified ZnO NRs.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 61264003) and the Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program of Guangxi University (201510593082 and 201410593101).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530004, China

    Chunyan Zhou, Liya Zhou, Jiehua Xu & Yufei Gan

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  1. Chunyan Zhou
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  2. Liya Zhou
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  3. Jiehua Xu
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  4. Yufei Gan
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Correspondence to Liya Zhou.

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Zhou, C., Zhou, L., Xu, J. et al. Controllable synthesis of CdS quantum dots and their photovoltaic application on quantum-dot-sensitized ZnO nanorods. J Solid State Electrochem 20, 533–540 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-015-3075-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-015-3075-5

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