Synthesis and photoluminescence of CdS QDs in ZrO2 nanotubes by sequential chemical bath deposition

Highly ordered ZrO2 nanotube (NT) arrays were fabricated by anodization in organic electrolyte containing NH4F. A facile sequential-chemical bath deposition technique was used to prepare CdS quantum dots (QDs) in the pores of ZrO2 NTs. XRD and HRTEM results confirmed the formation of single-phase wurtzite CdS nanoparticles with uniform size around 10 nm. UV-vis absorption and photoluminescence spectra proved that the CdS QD coating strongly enhanced the photon absorption of the NT arrays, as well as their PL signals in the visible broadband section which mostly arose from structure-dependent defects and oxygen vacancies in the nanohybrid layers.