Optical, electrochemical and thermal properties of Co2+-doped CdS nanoparticles using polyvinylpyrrolidone

Co2+ (1–5 and 10 %)-doped cadmium sulfide nanoparticles were synthesized by the chemical precipitation method using polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) as a surfactant. The X-ray diffraction results showed that Co ions were successfully incorporated into the CdS lattice and the transmission electron microscopy results revealed that the synthesized particles were aligned as rod-like structures. The absorption spectra of all the prepared samples (undoped and doped) were significantly blue shifted (472–504 nm) from the bulk CdS (512 nm). However, the absorption spectra of the doped samples were red shifted (408–504 nm) with respect to the doping concentrations (1–5 and 10 %). Furthermore, a dramatic blue shift absorption is observed at 472 nm for PVP-capped CdS:Co2+ (4 %) nanoparticles. In the photoluminescence study, two emission peaks were dominated in the green region at 529 and 545 nm corresponding the CdS:Co2+ nanoparticles. By correlating optical and EPR spectral data, the site symmetry of Co2+ ion in the host lattice was determined as both octahedral and tetrahedral. The presence of functional groups in the synthesized nanoparticles was identified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The thermal stability of the Co ions in CdS nanoparticles was studied by TG–DTA. In addition, an electrochemical property of the undoped and doped samples was studied by cyclic voltammetry for electrode applications.