Optical and impedance studies of pure and Ba-doped ZnS quantum dots

Abstract

Chemical precipitation method using a high-boiling solvent is used to synthesize ZnS and Ba-doped ZnS quantum dots. The presence of organic ligands in the prepared nanostructures is verified using Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopic studies. The samples have been analysed using X-ray diffraction analysis confirming nanocrystallinity of the as-prepared quantum dots (QD). The mean crystal size obtained by full width half maxima analysis is 3.2 nm for ZnS and 3.9, 4.2 nm for ZnS:Ba (2, 4 mM). TEM micrographs also reveal nanosized particles of ZnS and Ba-doped ZnS. An optical absorption study conducted in UV–Vis range 150–600 nm reveals the transparency of these quantum dots in entire visible range but not in ultraviolet range. The results based on optical analysis yield band gap values as 4.88 eV for ZnS and 4.69, 4.43 eV for ZnS:Ba (2, 4 mM) quantum dots. Impedance analysis of the samples was carried out to reveal the variation of impedance with frequency at room temperature. These results show the capacitive admittance associated with the quantum dots and hence nanostructure ZnS and Ba-doped ZnS can have potential applications in electronics as nano-tuned devices in which resonant frequency can be adjusted by controlling the size and shape of the quantum dots.