Solvothermally synthesized europium-doped CdS nanorods: applications as phosphors

To exploit the photoluminescent behavior of CdS at nanoscale with different doping concentration of europium—a rare earth element, we report the synthesis of Eu-doped CdS nanorods by using low temperature solvothermal process by using ethylenediamine. The outcomes can have future applications as phosphors, photovoltaic cells, lasers, light emitting diodes, bio-imaging, and sensors. The doping was confirmed by electron dispersive spectroscopy supported by X-ray diffraction. From scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy analysis it was observed that the average diameter of the Cd_1−x Eu _x S nanorods is about 10–12 nm having lengths in the range of 50–100 nm. UV–Visible spectroscopy study was carried out to determine the band gap of the nanorods and the absorbance peaks showed blue shift with respect to the bulk CdS. The blue shift was also observed as the doping concentration of Eu increases. From photoluminescence (PL) studies at λ_ex = 450 nm, peaks at 528 and 540 nm were observed due to CdS, peak at 570 nm is due to defects related transitions, while the peak at 613 nm is due to Eu. As the doping concentration of Eu is increased the intensity of the luminescent peak at 613 nm is increased. Thermogravimetric analysis showed the nanorods are thermally stable up to 300 °C. The traces of impurities adsorbed on the nanorods were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.     

Synthesis of High Quality CdS Nanorods by Solvothermal Process and their Photoluminescence

Large-scale cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanorods with high quality were successfully synthesized by solvothermal method using ethylenediamine (en) aqueous as solvent. The as-obtained product was investigated by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectrum and photoluminescence (PL) spectrum. The length and width of the CdS nanorods were in the range of 1–2 μm, 30–40 nm, respectively. XRD analysis revealed that the crystal structure of the product was hexagonal phase. Photoluminescence measurement showed that the nanobelts have two main emission bands around 470 and 560 nm, which should come from the higher-level transition and the intrinsic transition, respectively.     

Synthesis,structure, and electrochemical properties of CdMoO<Subscript>4</Subscript> nanorods

In this paper, a novel nanocrystalline cadmium molybdate with nanorod morphology has been successfully prepared via hydrothermal method at relatively low temperature. The structure, composition, morphology of the prepared material was characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. The XRD data shows that the nanorods may have grown preferentially along the (001) axis. The diameters of these nanorods are within 30–50 nm in the TEM. The electrochemical intercalation of lithium into this compound and the cycling performance were first tested as the cathode material of lithium rechargeable battery. At the same time, the nanorod morphology presented here can also be helpful for the other property studies of CdMoO₄.     

Aligned ZnO nanorod arrays fabricated on Si substrate by solution deposition

Aligned ZnO nanorod arrays were fabricated by chemical solution deposition based on Si substrate which was spin coated with ZnO colloid as nucleation seeds. Their microstructures were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The results indicated that ZnO nanorods nucleated and grew vertically on Si substrates along the [0 0 1] direction with single-crystalline structure. The diameter of ZnO nanorods was greatly affected by the grain size of ZnO seeds. Room-temperature photoluminescence of nanorods has a strong emission band at about 384 nm.     

Cadmium sulfide quantum dots stabilized by castor oil and ricinoleic acid

Castor oil and ricinoleic acid (an isolate of castor oil) are environmentally friendly bio-based organic surfactants that have been used as capping agents to prepare nearly spherical cadmium sulfide quantum dots (QDs) at 230, 250 and 280 °C. The prepared quantum dots were characterized by Ultra violet–visible (UV–vis), Photoluminescence (PL), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) giving an overall CdS QDs average size of 5.14±0.39 nm. The broad XRD pattern and crystal lattice fringes in the HRTEM images showed a hexagonal phase composition of the CdS QDs. The calculated/estimated average size of the prepared castor oil capped CdS QDs for various techniques were 4.64 nm (TEM), 4.65 nm (EMA), 5.35 nm (UV–vis) and 6.46 nm (XRD). For ricinoleic acid capped CdS QDs, the average sizes were 5.56 nm (TEM), 4.78 nm (EMA), 5.52 nm (UV–vis) and 8.21 nm (XRD). Optical properties of CdS QDs showed a change of band gap energy from its bulk band gap of 2.42–2.82 eV due to quantum size confinement effect for temperature range of 230–280 °C. Similarly, a blue shift was observed in the photoluminescence spectra. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations show that the as-synthesized CdS QDs structures are spherical in shape. Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) studies confirms the formation of castor oil and ricinoleic acid capped CdS QDs.     

CdS quantum dot-sensitized ZnO nanorod-based photoelectrochemical solar cells

ZnO nanorods have been grown using ZnO seed layer onto ITO-coated glass substrates. CdS quantum dots have been deposited onto ZnO nanorods using simple precursors by chemical method and the assembly of CdS quantum dots with ZnO nanorod has been used as photo-electrode in quantum dot-sensitized solar cells. X-ray diffraction results show that ZnO seed layer, ZnO nanorods, and CdS quantum dot-sensitized ZnO nanorods exhibit hexagonal structure. The particle size of CdS nanoparticle is 5 nm. The surface morphology studied using scanning electron microscope shows that the top surface of the vertically aligned ZnO nanorods is fully covered by CdS quantum dots. The ZnO nanorods have diameter ranging from 100 to 200 nm. The absorption spectra reveal that the absorption edge of CdS quantum dot-sensitized ZnO nanorods shift toward longer wavelength side when compared to the absorption edge of ZnO. The efficiency of the fabricated CdS quantum dot-sensitized ZnO nanorod-based solar cell is 0.69% and is the best efficiency reported so far for this type of solar cells.     

Synthesis and Optical Characterization of CdS Nanowires by Chemical Process

Cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanostructured materials were synthesized by a wet chemical route without using any capping agent. X-ray diffraction pattern showed the typical interplanar spacings corresponding to the cubic phase of CdS. Transmission electron microscopy studies showed the nanowires formation with length in the range 0.1–1.5 μm and the diameter 25–30 nm. UV–visible optical spectroscopy study was carried out to determine the bandgap of the nanostructured CdS thin films and it showed blue shift with respect to the bulk value. Variation of band gap energies with annealing temperature was also studied in detail. Room temperature photoluminescence of the nano-CdS films was measured and the spectrum showed a broad band centered at ~567 nm, which originated from trap states existing in the forbidden energy gap.     

A novel method for preparing lithium manganese oxide nanorods from nanorod precursor

Lithium manganese oxide nanorods were prepared from manganese dioxide nanorods precursor. The structure and morphology were confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The data of the Rietveld refinement indicate that the nanorods preferentially grow along the [111] direction. After charge–discharge test at 1.0 mA cm⁻² in 3.0–4.4 V, the nanorods LiMn₂O₄ showed the 134.5 mAh g⁻¹ initial discharge capacity and only lost 1.1% of initial capacity after 30 cycles, which is better than that of bulk particles LiMn₂O₄ prepared by traditional solid-state reaction method. This effective and simple route to synthesis nanorods LiMn₂O₄ from one-dimensional (1D) precursor could also be extended to prepare 1D other nanomaterials with special electrochemical properties.     

Controlling morphology and structure of nanocrystalline cadmium sulfide (CdS) by tailoring solvothermal processing parameters

Cadmium sulfide (CdS) with different morphologies was successfully prepared by solvothermal process by controlling the processing parameters, including nature of precursor and solvent, reaction temperature and process time. X-ray diffraction patterns revealed that, in all cases highly pure and crystallized CdS with hexagonal structure were obtained. In addition, it was found that the processing parameters influence on preferable growth direction of CdS nanostructures. Field emission scanning electron microscope analysis showed that CdS nanowires with different aspect ratios were obtained (depending upon the reaction temperature and process time) in presence of sulfur powder and ethylenediamine, whereas CdS nanoparticles were produced by sulfur powder and ethanolamine. Moreover, CdS nanorods were prepared using thiourea and ethylenediamine. Transmission electron microscope image confirmed that CdS nanowire with one of the highest aspect ratio reported in the literature (i.e., 255) was achieved using sulfur powder and ethylenediamine at 200 °C reaction temperature for 72 h process time. UV–Vis absorption spectra of CdS nanostructures prepared under different conditions displayed a blue shift relative to that of bulk CdS due to the quantum size effect.     

Plasmonic resonance enhancement of single gold nanorod in two-photon photopolymerization for fabrication of polymer/metal nanocomposites

We investigated the plasmonic resonance enhanced two-photon photopolymerization (PETPP) using the isolated chemical synthesized gold nanorods for fabrication of polymer/metal nanocomposites. The isolated gold nanorods with the plasmonic resonance band around 750 nm covered by photoresist were irradiated by a femtosecond laser with the wavelength of 780 nm. The PETPP trigged by the plasmonic resonance enhancement of gold nanorods was localized only in the distance smaller than 30 nm from the surface of gold nanorods, which matched the distance of plasmonic resonant enhanced field of the gold nanorod. The shapes of obtained polymer/gold nanocomposites were changed from the “dumbbell” to the “ellipsoid” with the increase of laser irradiating intensity used for PETPP. This study would provide a potential method for fabricating the plasmonic nanomaterials and nanostructures of polymer/metal nanocomposites, which could be expected to be applied in the emerging fields such as nanophotonics, nanobiosensor, nanolithography.     

Solvothermal synthesis of CdS nanorods using hydroxyethyl cellulose as a template

CdS nanorods were solvothermally produced from Cd(CH₃COO)₂ and S powder using ethylenediamine (en) as a solvent and hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) as a template. The phase with hexagonal structure was detected using XRD and SAED, which is in perfect accordance with the results obtained by simulation. SEM, TEM and HRTEM revealed the development of nanorods with a number of atoms arranged in crystal lattices. When the appropriate amount of HEC was used, the longest nanorods, with preferential growth in the [0 0 1] direction, were produced. Raman spectra showed the fundamental and overtone modes at the same wavenumbers of 301 and 599 cm⁻¹, respectively. Their relative intensities at each temperature were strongly influenced by the anisotropic geometry of the products. Photoluminescence caused by electron-hole recombination was detected at 470 nm, and by surface trapping induced emission at 575 nm. The formation mechanism of CdS nanorods was also proposed based on the experimental results.     

Synthesis of nanocrystalline CdS thin film by SILAR and their characterization

Cadmium sulphide (CdS) thin film was prepared by successive ion layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) technique using ammonium sulphide as anionic precursor. Characterization techniques of XRD, SEM, TEM, FTIR and EDX were utilized to study the microstructure of the films. Structural characterization by x-ray diffraction reveals the polycrystalline nature of the films. Cubic structure is revealed from X-ray diffraction and selected area diffraction (SAD) patterns. The particle size estimated using X-ray line broadening method is approximately 7 nm. Instrumental broadening was taken into account while particle size estimation. TEM shows CdS nanoparticles in the range 5–15 nm. Elemental mapping using EFTEM reveals good stoichiometric composition of CdS. Characteristic stretching vibration mode of CdS was observed in the absorption band of FTIR spectrum. Optical absorption study exhibits a distinct blue shift in band gap energy value of about 2.56 eV which confirms the size quantization.     

CdS quantum dots for measurement of the size-dependent optical properties of thiol capping

Abstract  

The optical- and size-dependent properties of CdS quantum dots (QDs) were analyzed in the presence and absence of different capping agents in aqueous medium. The QDs have been characterized by UV–Vis, Photoluminescence, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Fluorescence lifetime measurements. QDs with the presence of thiol group in cubic phase with small grain size were observed in XRD and decrease in particle size of the same with increase in band gap is deduced through UV–Vis and XRD studies. The FT-IR spectrum confirms the interaction of thiol group with CdS. Fluorescence lifetime of capped QDs was higher compared to uncapped CdS QDs. The surface passivation of thiol group on CdS is shown in photoluminescence studies.     

Understanding the role of hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide in the preparation of selenium nanoparticles: a spectroscopic approach

In this work, we report the size tunable synthesis of selenium (Se) nanoparticles with an average particle size ~16 nm by using hydrazine hydrate as the reducing agent. The solution of selenium dioxide was taken as the precursor and hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) a cationic surfactant, which helps in providing sufficient stabilization to the Se nanoparticles. The synthesized Se nanoparticles were characterized by the UV–vis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopic techniques, which demonstrated high stability of Se nanoparticles in aqueous media. The particle sizes estimated from the band gap values using effective mass approximation (EMA) agreed fairly well with those calculated from the XRD measurements. The concentration effects of Se and CTAB on the particle size have also been examined. The capping ability of the CTAB has been quantitatively evaluated from FTIR studies.     

Fabrication of magnetic gold nanorod particles for immunomagnetic separation and SERS application

The preparation and application of rod-shaped core–shell structured Fe₃O₄–Au nanoparticles for immunomagnetic separation and sensing were described for the first time with this study. To synthesize magnetic gold nanorod particles, the seed-mediated synthetic method was carried out and the resulting nanoparticles were characterized with transmission electron microscopy (TEM), ultraviolet visible spectroscopy (UV–Vis), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Magnetic properties of the nanoparticles were also examined. Characterization of the magnetic gold nanorod particles has proven that the resulting nanoparticles were composed of Fe₃O₄ core and the gold shell. The rod-shaped gold-coated iron nanoparticles have an average diameter of 16 ± 2 nm and an average length of about 50 ± 5 nm (corresponding aspect ratio of 3). The saturation magnetization value for the magnetic gold nanorod particles was found to be 37 emu/g at 300 K. Rapid and room temperature reaction synthesis of magnetic gold nanorod particles and subsequent surface modification with E. coli antibodies provide immunomagnetic separation and SERS application. The analytical performance of the SERS-based homogenous sandwich immunoassay system with respect to linear range, detection limit, and response time is also presented.     

Facile synthesis of Nb2O5 nanorod array films and their electrochemical properties

Nb₂O₅ nanorod array films were synthesized by a facile hydrothermal process using niobium metal foil and NH₄F as precursors. The Nb₂O₅ nanorods stand on the niobium metal foil substrate and are less than 100 nm in diameter and about 1 μm in length. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) characterizations indicate that these nanorods have orthorhombic structure and grew longitudinally along 〈0 0 1〉 direction. The nanorod growth mechanism was discussed. Thermal annealing at a temperature below 500 °C did not change the microstructure of nanorods but improve the crystallinity. The Nb₂O₅ nanorod array films have been tested as cathode material for lithium battery, which showed a good specific capacity up to 380 mAh g⁻¹ even after 50 charge/discharge cycles.     

Non-catalytic and substrate-free method to titania-doped W18O49 nanorods: growth, characterizations, and electro-optical properties

In the present study, titania-doped (Ti-doped) W₁₈O₄₉ nanorods have been prepared using a modified plasma arc gas condensation technique. Characterizations by field-emission gun scanning electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicate that the as-prepared nanorods with a single-crystalline monoclinic W₁₈O₄₉ phase are of 20–100 nm in diameter and several micrometers in length. The Raman peaks of the Ti-doped W₁₈O₄₉ nanorods show a red-shift Raman peaks, and an additional green-emission peak at 497 nm is observed in the photoluminescence (PL) spectrum compared to pure W₁₈O₄₉ nanorods. Field-emission (FE) measurements reveal that the turn-on (E _to) and threshold (E _thr) voltages of the Ti-doped W₁₈O₄₉ nanorods are 2.2 and 3.4 V/μm, respectively. A vapor–solid process that does not involve the use of catalyst is proposed for the nanorod growth mechanism. Experimental results show that the additional defects resulting from titania doping are responsible for the enhancement of the optical and FE properties of the pure W₁₈O₄₉ nanorods.     

Aligned CuO nanorod arrays: fabrication and anisotropic ferromagnetism

Copper oxide (CuO) is a p-type semiconductor with a band gap of 1.2 eV, which is well known in high-temperature superconductor and antiferromagnetic (AFM) materials through Cu–O–Cu super-exchange interaction. In this paper, we report the strong anisotropic ferromagnetism (FM) in aligned CuO nanorod arrays synthesized by a microwave-assisted hydrothermal method. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image shows that the CuO nanorod consists of a large number of smaller nanorods with almost the same growth direction. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern indicates that the CuO nanorods are well crystallized with highly preferred orientation of the [020] direction. These CuO nanorod arrays show room-temperature ferromagnetism, with strong magnetic anisotropy when the magnetic field is applied perpendicular or parallel to the rod axis. This phenomenon of room-temperature ferromagnetism in those aligned CuO nanorods might originate from uncompensated surface spins and shape anisotropy of the nanorods.     

Determination of the optimal parameters for the fabrication of ZnO thin films prepared by spray pyrolysis method

In this work, ZnO thin films have been prepared by spray pyrolysis deposition method on the glass substrates. The effect of deposition parameters, such as deposition rate, substrate temperature and solution volume has been studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) method, UV–Vis–NIR spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and electrical measurements. The XRD patterns indicate polycrystalline wurtzite structure with preferred direction along (0 0 2) planes. Thin films have transparency around 90% in the visible range. The optical band gap was determined at 3.27 eV which did not change significantly. Evolution of electrical results containing the carriers’ density, sheet resistance and resistivity are in agreement with structural results. All the results suggest the best deposition parameters are: deposition rate, R = 3 ml/min, substrate temperature, T _s = 450°C and thickness of the thin films t = 110–130 nm.     

Structure and magnetic properties of Zn<Subscript>0.9</Subscript>Co<Subscript>0.1</Subscript>O nanorods synthesized by a simple sol–gel method using metal acetylacetonate and poly(vinyl alcohol)

Room-temperature ferromagnetism was observed in Zn_0.9Co_0.1O nanorods with diameters and lengths of ∼100–200 nm and ∼200–1000 nm, respectively. Nanorods were synthesized by a simple sol–gel method using metal acetylacetonate powders of Zn and Co and poly(vinyl alcohol) gel. The XRD, FT-IR and SAED analyses indicated that the nanorods calcined at 873–1073 K have the pure ZnO wurtzite structure without any significant change in the structure affected by Co substitution. Optical absorption measurements showed absorption bands indicating the presence of Co²⁺ in substitution of Zn²⁺. The specific magnetization of the nanorods appeared to increase with a decrease in the lattice constant c of the wurtzite unit cell with the highest value being at 873 K calcination temperature. This magnetic behavior is similar to that of Zn_0.9Co_0.1O nanoparticles prepared by polymerizable precursor method. We suggest that this behavior might be related to hexagonal c-axis being favorable direction of magnetization in Co-doped ZnO and the 873 K (energy of 75 meV) being close to the exciton/donor binding energy of ZnO.