Abstract
We prepared cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanoparticles of a specific size via chemical precipitation at room temperature and characterized them using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, x-ray powder diffraction, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) measurements. The results showed that the samples were grown with a cubic phase; the particle size could be changed from 2 nm to 4 nm by varying the molar ratios of the precursors (cadmium chloride and sodium sulfide) in the presence of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) as an effective capping agent. The optical bandgap of the synthesized nanoparticles was calculated and ranged from 2.73 eV to 2.92 eV depending on the particle size. A large blue-shift from the bulk bandgap (2.42 eV) was observed owing to the quantum size effect. Surface passivation and adsorption of PEG on the CdS nanoparticles was explained on the basis of FTIR measurements; two bands were observed at 476 cm^sup -1^ and 622 cm^sup -1^, corresponding to cadmium and sulfide stretching vibrations. We conclude that particle size can be controlled by varying the molar ratios of the precursors. Owing to the PEG encapsulation, the as-prepared samples were extremely stable over time.