Abstract
The synthesis of II-VI semiconductor nanoparticles obtained by the thermolysis of certain group 12 metal complexes as precursors is reported. Thermogravimetric analysis of the single source precursors showed sharp decomposition leading to their respective metal sulfides. The structural and optical properties of the prepared nanoparticles were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) UV-Vis and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The X-ray diffraction pattern showed that the prepared ZnS nanoparticles have a cubic sphalerite structure; the CdS indicates a hexagonal phase and the HgS show the presence of metacinnabar phase. The TEM image demonstrates that the ZnS nanoparticles are dot-shaped, the CdS and the HgS clearly showed a rice and spherical morphology respectively. The UV-Vis spectra exhibited a blue-shift with respect to that of the bulk samples which is attributed to the quantum size effect. The band gap of the samples have been calculated from absorption spectra and werefound to be about 4.33 eV (286 nm), 2.91 eV (426 nm) and 4.27 eV (290 nm) for the ZnS, CdS and HgS samples respectively.
Highlights
Nanocrystalline materials have attracted much attention in recent years because properties in nanoforms differ significantly from those of their bulk counterparts [1]
The function of the hexadecylamine was to solve the problem of insufficient dispersion of nanoparticles and formation of large aggregates which could result into the loss of the special nanoscale properties
Different types of surface-capping agents have been used to stabilize II-VI semiconductor nanoparticles. These include starch [28], polyphosphate [29], trioctylphosphine/trioctylphosphine oxide, and thiols [30]; they are capable of tuning nanoparticle shape, size, and other surface properties to different extents depending on their molecular structure
Summary
Nanocrystalline materials have attracted much attention in recent years because properties in nanoforms differ significantly from those of their bulk counterparts [1]. 1S-exciton diameter, they exhibit quantum confinement [3,4,5,6] This results in the appearance of a quantized Eigen spectrum and an increase in the energy gap relative to the band gap (Eg) of the bulk solid [7]. Nanocrystalline HgS has pronounced dichorism [18], photoelectric [19], acousto-optic properties [20] and electrostatic image properties [21] It is a well known technologically important material. Despite these applications of HgS nanoparticles, relatively scarce studies are available due to difficulty in synthesis and toxicity of mercury. Group 12 complexes of mixed alkyl-phenyl dithiocarbamate complexes have been used as single source precursors to prepare ZnS, CdS, and HgS semiconductor nanoparticles
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