CdS hierarchical spindles: Structural defects and properties

Hydrothermal process has been successfully applied to synthesize CdS hierarchical spindles. The compositions and morphologies of the as-produced US were investigated through X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. It is found that the hexagonal wurtzite-structured US spindles are endowed with hierarchical morphologies with the branches nearly perpendicular to the trunks. Some of the structural defects are also detected by TEM. Furthermore, the absorption and emission spectral properties were studied using UV-Vis spectrometer and photoluminescence spectrometer, respectively. It is speculated that the red shift of absorption edge and the enhanced deep-level (DL) emission are all related to the structural defects of the as-prepared CdS hierarchical spindles. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved