Polyaniline–CdS nanocomposite from organometallic cadmium precursor

Nanocomposites of conducting polyaniline (PAni) and cadmium sulphide (CdS) has been synthesized via in situ generation of CdS from highly reactive organometallic cadmium precursor i.e. dimethyl cadmium (DMCd) in N,N′-dimethyl formamide (DMF). UV-Vis absorption spectra of PAni–CdS nanocomposite showed λ(max) at about 440–445 nm in addition to the bands present at ∼325 and ∼615 nm due to PAni. The absorption band at ∼440–445 nm is identified due to nanosized CdS particles indicating a blue shift of about >70 nm with respect to bulk CdS. The X-ray diffraction pattern showed broad peaks due to formation of nanoparticles of CdS in polyaniline matrix. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the particles are in agglomerated form. Organometallic compound i.e. dimethyl cadmium (Me2Cd) is used for the first time with polyaniline for CdS nano particles.