Partic. vol. 11 no. 5 pp. 566-573 (October 2013)
doi: 10.1016/j.partic.2012.11.003

Synthesis and photoluminescence properties of zinc sulfide nanoparticles doped with copper using effective surfactants

G. Murugadoss^*

murugadoss_g@yahoo.com

Abstract

Zinc sulfide (ZnS), various concentrations of Cu²⁺ (0.25%–1.25%)-doped ZnS and ZnS:Cu²⁺ nanoparticles capped with various surfactants have been successfully synthesized by a chemical precipitation method in ambient air at 80 ˚C. The synthesized particles were characterized by UV–visible absorption (UV–vis), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The absorption peaks of the synthesized nanoparticles were noticeably blue-shifted from the bulk material. The XRD analysis confirmed the formation of a cubic phase for all samples. The average size of the particles ranged from 3.2 to 5.3 nm. The TEM analysis showed that the particles were highly monodispersed and spherical in shape. Particles with increased Cu²⁺ concentrations had a red shift in their PL emission spectra. Enhanced PL emissions were observed for surfactant-capped particles. The experimental results indicate that, as expected, the PL spectrum confirms the presence of Cu²⁺ ions in the ZnS nanoparticles.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Nanoparticles; Doping; Surfactant; Quantum confinement; Red shift