Synthesis and characterization of poly(acrylic acid) stabilized cadmium sulfide quantum dots

Cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanoparticles (NPs) capped with poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) were prepared in aqueous solutions from Cd(NO3)2 and Na2S. Influence of the COOH/Cd ratio (0.8-12.5), reaction pH (5.5 and 7.5), and PAA molecular weight (2100 and 5100 g/mol) on the particle size, colloidal stability, and photoluminescence were investigated. A Cd/S ratio of <1 causes ineffective passivization of the surface with the carboxylate and therefore results in a red shift of the absorption band and a significant drop in photoluminescence. Therefore, the Cd/S ratio was fixed at 1.1 for all experiments studying the mentioned variables. PAA coating provided excellent colloidal stability at a COOH/Cd ratio above 1. Absorption edges of PAA-coated CdS NPs are in the range of 460-508 nm. The size of the NPs increases slightly with increasing PAA molecular weight and COOH/Cd ratio at pH 7.5. It is demonstrated that there is a critical COOH/Cd ratio (1.5-2) that maximizes the photoluminescence intensity and quantum yield (QY, 17%). Above this critical ratio, which corresponds to smaller crystal sizes (3.7-4.1 nm) for each reaction set, the quantum yield decreases and the crystal size increases. Moreover, CdS NPs prepared at pH 7.5 have significantly higher QY and absorb at lower wavelengths in comparison with those prepared at pH 5.5. Luminescence quenching has not been observed over 8 months.