In situ electrostatic assembly of CdS nanoparticles onto aligned multiwalled carbon nanotubes in aqueous solution

A simple method is described for the electrostatic assembly of CdS nanoparticles onto oxidized aligned multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in aqueous solution. The method is convenient to control and allows the formation of a stable, water-soluble suspension of CdS/aligned-MWCNT heterostructures. The prepared CdS/aligned-MWCNT heterostructures are characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution TEM (HRTEM), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), x-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR). The fluorescence and UV absorption spectral properties of the hybrid material demonstrate electron transfer from CdS nanoparticles to aligned-MWCNTs, which implies its potential applications in photovoltaic cells, photocatalysis, and solar energy conversion.