Optical and structural characterisation of Cu doped CdS (CdS:Cu) nanoparticles

Cu doped cadmium sulfide (CdS:Cu) nanoparticles were prepared with a wet chemical synthesis by mixing the reactants in a double distilled water solvent. Thioglycerol (TG) was employed as the capping agent and also as the reaction catalyst. Properties of the particles were investigated using UV absorption; photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). The particle size of the prepared CdS:Cu nanoparticles was estimated to be about 4 nm. The XRD pattern of CdS: Cu nanoparticles reveals a hexagonal crystal structure at room temperature. Variation of the TG concentration does not shift the position of the excitonic peak in the absorption spectrum but the PL intensity increases as the TG concentration is increased. The PL intensity decreases with increasing Cu concentration.