Diffusion mediated agglomeration of CdS nanoparticles via Langmuir–Blodgett technique

Abstract

We have reported a diffusion mediated agglomeration of cadmium sulphide (CdS) nanoparticles within cadmium arachidate (CdA2) film matrix. The structural morphology and formation of CdS nanoparticles are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray reflectivity (XRR), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy techniques. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results show a change in bilayer difference from 53.04Å to 43Å after the sulphidation. An epitaxial growth of the films by ∼5Å after sulphidation is confirmed from atomic force microscopy studies. The particle size calculated form UV–vis absorption edges are found to be varying from 2.6nm to 3.3nm for the different layers. A lateral dimension of 72–80nm from AFM measurements and a size of 2.6–3.3nm have confirmed one side flat pseudo two-dimensional disk-like nanoparticles. UV–vis reflectivity peak at E1 (A) confirms the formation of hexagonal CdS nanoparticles along the c-axis.