Preparation of water-soluble cadmium sulfide quantum dots with narrow small-size distribution by controlling hydrodynamic cavitation device parameters

Abstract

With the increasingly broad application of quantum dots in many fields, how to further improve the performance of quantum dots in various aspects has become an urgent problem to be solved. In this study, hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) technology was applied for the first time in the preparation of quantum dots. Specifically, cadmium sulfide quantum dots (CdS QDs) with small particle size, narrow distribution, high concentration and large Stokes shift are prepared. Firstly, CdS precipitation was obtained in an aqueous solvent, using cadmium nitrate tetrahydrate (Cd(NO3)2·4H2O) and sodium sulfide nonahydrate (Na2S·9H2O) as Cd and S sources, respectively. Subsequently, CdS QDs were formed from top to bottom through hydrodynamic cavitation reactor, which generates high temperature, high pressure, high-speed jets, shear forces, and shock waves. In summary, the intrinsic advantages of HC technology offer a new opportunity for manufacturing large-scale quantum dots with superb performance.