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Structural, optical, and photocatalytic properties of Cd1−xS:Lax nanoparticles for optoelectronic applications

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Abstract

Cd1−xS:Lax nanoparticles with varying La and Cd concentrations have been prepared by microemulsion technique in the presence of cationic surfactant cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB). The structural phase for lanthanum-doped cadmium sulfide nanoparticles was investigated using X-ray diffraction revealing a cubic zinc blende structure for x = 0.0–0.06, while the hexagonal structure was obtained for higher La contents. The size of the nanoparticles was observed using field-emission scanning electron (FE-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and nanoparticles were found to exhibit a spherically symmetric shape. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) was performed to analyze the composition of constituent elements. The measurements of photocatalytic hydrogen production indicated that La-doped CdS nanoparticles exhibit high H2-production rate as compared to that by the pure CdS. Diffuse UV–visible and photoluminescence spectra elucidated that bandgap varies inversely with the particle size; bandgap improves as particles size reduces for CdS with low La concentrations (~ 6%), in contrast, for higher La concentrations (8% and 10%) bandgap decays as the particle size improves. We believe that this work enriches the theory on La-doping CdS system and provides comprehensive guidance for the application of effective photocatalytic degradation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Advanced Studies in Physics, GC University, Lahore, 5400, Pakistan

    G. Murtaza & S. M. A. Osama

  2. Department of Physics, School of Science and Engineering, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Lahore, 54792, Pakistan

    Murtaza Saleem

  3. Materials Growth and Simulation Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of the Punjab, Lahore, 54000, Pakistan

    M. Hassan

  4. Department of Physics, University of Gujrat, Gujrat, Pakistan

    N. R. K. Watoo

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  1. G. Murtaza
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  2. S. M. A. Osama
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  3. Murtaza Saleem
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  4. M. Hassan
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Correspondence to G. Murtaza or Murtaza Saleem.

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Murtaza, G., Osama, S.M.A., Saleem, M. et al. Structural, optical, and photocatalytic properties of Cd1−xS:Lax nanoparticles for optoelectronic applications. Appl. Phys. A 124, 778 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-018-2199-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-018-2199-8

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