Novel hierarchical CdS crystals by an amino acid mediated hydrothermal process

We report the synthesis of CdS crystals with novel dendritic structures by a simple amino acid mediated hydrothermal process, in which various amino acids were used as capping agents. We elaborated that a slight change of the side group of amino acids can significantly influence the type and the structure of CdS crystals. We found that the reaction temperature and the time also have effects on the formation of CdS crystals. The resulting different-shaped CdS crystals exhibited different UV-vis absorption characteristics. Our results suggest that the biomolecule-assisted hydrothermal route using amino acids as capping agents provides an effective and green approach to produce hierarchical CdS crystals with rich morphologies. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.