Fine-tune optical absorption and light emitting behavior of the CdS/PVA hybridized film nanocomposite

Abstract

CdS nanoparticles (NPs) nucleated at different temperatures were composited with PVA to control and fine-tune optical absorption and emission of the nano-hybrid composite by varying the sizes of the CdS NPs which in turn depends on the nucleation temperature. The implanting of CdS NPs into PVA matrix was confirmed by XRD hand in hand with absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopic techniques. UV/VIS absorption spectra confirm the formation of hybridized film CdS/PVA nanocomposite with refractive index in the range of 2–4. UV/VIS measurements were also used in calculating different optical and dielectric parameters such as refractive index, extinction coefficient, dielectric constants, and optical conductivity. The optical parameters varied with the incorporation of CdS NPs within PVA matrix; accordingly, the optical constants of the nanocomposite films could be controlled by size of CdS content. Tauc's relation was used to determine the optical band gap and to determine the type of electronic transition. It is found that the direct allowed transition is more probable in CdS/PVA nanocomposite film of direct band gap around 3.8 eV. Blue and green light emissions from CdS/PVA nanocomposite film have been observed. Further, the PL studies indicated the emission peak observed at UV band represents band to band transition, while the blue and green emissions could be assigned to the optical transition of the first excitonic state of the CdS NPs and emission from interstitial sulfur respectively. The blue shift in the PL spectra was parallel to the shift observed in UV/VIS spectra. Because of its excellent fluorescence and highly transparent performance, the composite film of CdS nucleated at 200 °C was found to be suitable for bio-related applications such as bio-labeling, bio-imaging, drug delivery, and LEDs as well as a window layer in solar cell.