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Chemical synthesis and optical characterization of regular and magic-sized CdS quantum dot nanocrystals using 1-dodecanethiol

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Abstract

Cadmium sulfide (CdS) quantum dot (QD) nanoparticles have been synthesized using a one-pot noninjection reaction procedure in solvent medium 1-octadecene. This approach used a cadmium salt and 1-dodecanethiol, an organic sulfur, as the cadmium and sulfur sources, respectively, along with a long-chain organic acid (myristic acid, lauric acid, or stearic acid). The acid has dual effects as a surface capping ligand and a solubility controlling agent as well. UV–Vis and photoluminescence (PL) spectrometry techniques were used to characterize the optical properties, along with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to identify the structure and size. Our newly developed synthesis procedure allowed for investigation of both regular and “magic-sized” CdS QDs by systematically controlling reaction parameters such as reactant type, reactant concentration, and reaction temperature. The organic sulfur (1-dodecanethiol) proved to be a useful sulfur source for synthesizing magic-sized CdS QDs, previously unreported. Several distinctive size regimes of magic-sized quantum dots (MSQDs), including Families 378 and 407, were successfully produced by controlling a small number of factors. The understanding of controlled Cd release in a MSQD formation mechanism is developed.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was supported in part by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science, and Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists (WDTS) under the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship program (SULI), and partially by the DOE/NA-22 program and ORNL-LDRD program. We also acknowledge the collaborative assistance provided by Mussie Alemseghed on synthesis lab assistance, as well as John Dunlap and Bamin Khomami on using TEM at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Acknowledgment is given to Jong Keum at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS) for his XRD analysis of our CdS quantum dot samples although the XRD data were not included in this paper.

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  1. Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee, Tennessee, 37996, USA

    Rachel E. Dickson

  2. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 37831-6181, USA

    Michael Z. Hu

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  1. Rachel E. Dickson
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  2. Michael Z. Hu
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Correspondence to Michael Z. Hu.

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Dickson, R.E., Hu, M.Z. Chemical synthesis and optical characterization of regular and magic-sized CdS quantum dot nanocrystals using 1-dodecanethiol. Journal of Materials Research 30, 890–895 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2015.57

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2015.57

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