Effect of Synthesis Parameters on Photoactivity of CdS Nanoparticles

: In the present work, CdS nanoparticles were synthesized by four different routes using ammonium sulphide ((NH 4 ) 2 S) as source of (Sulphide) S 2- ions. CdS nanoparticles were grown by simple chemical precipitation reactions in aqueous medium at room temperature. The effect of stabilizers on the stability and size of CdS nanoparticles was studied. The effect of different reaction parameters on the size of nanoparticles, absorbance and respective band gaps and crystalline structure were studied. The microstructure and morphology of the synthesized CdS nanoparticles have been characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis. XRD pattern reveals that as-synthesized CdS nanoparticles exhibit both hexagonal and cubic phases. The size of the particles calculated by Debye Scherrer formula according to the XRD spectra has been found to be about 3-30 nm. The optical properties of the sample have been studied by UV-Visible and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The existence of blue shift in UV-Visible spectroscopy reveals the quantum confinement effect of CdS nanoparticles. Finally, the synthesized CdS nanoparticles were exploited for the degradation of acid blue-29 (AB-29), under UV light. The photocatalytic efficiency of the synthesized nanoparticles, using different reaction routes were compared and optimized.