Synthesis, characterization and optical properties of CdS nanoparticles confined in SBA-15

A novel and dexterous in situ method is introduced to load CdS nanocrystals into SBA-15, which uses the acid–base reaction of mercaptoacetic acid with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane, the modifier of internal surface of mesoporous materials to facilitate loading of sulfur precursor, followed by adsorption of Cd2+ and calcination at 300 °C in N2 atmosphere for 2 h. XRD, N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms, HRTEM, EDS, FT-IR, UV–vis absorption spectrum and PL spectrum were used to characterize the composite material. It was found that the CdS nanocrystals were confined in the channel of SBA-15 with an average size of 6 nm. The mesoporous silica-supported CdS composites showed a room temperature photoluminescence property.