Fabrication and characterization of ZnO@CdS core-shell nanostructure using acetate precursors: XRD, FESEM, DRS, FTIR studies and effects of cadmium ion concentration on band gap

ZnO@CdS core-shell nano-structure has been synthesized using zinc acetate dihydrate, and cadmium acetate dihydrate as simple precursors in a water-ethanol matrix without using any surfactant, ligand or chelating agents. The effect of different concentrations of cadmium acetate and sodium sulfide on optical and electronic properties of ZnO@CdS core-shell was investigated. The morphology and structure of the ZnO@CdS core-shell nano-structures have been confirmed by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements. The results showed that the ZnO@CdS core-shell nano-structure is mixed cubic and hexagonal structures. FESEM results showed the mono-dispersed and uniform size of 39 nm. Optical properties were studied by UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) technique and the results showed that band gaps of ZnO@CdS core-shell nanocomposites were red shifted by increasing the cadmium concentration. FTIR spectrum of ZnO@CdS core-shell nano-structure showed a band at 482 cm(-1) correlated to Zn-O bond and a band at 630 cm(-1) due to the stretching frequency of Cd-S bond. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.