The formation of cadmium sulfide nanowires in different liquid crystal systems

The lyotropic C16–18EO7 liquid crystal mediated synthesis of CdS nanowires was studied. It was found that the gaps among the hexagonally packed cylinders of surfactant molecules in hexagonal liquid crystal can act as good templates for the synthesis of CdS nanowires. Nanowires as thin as 3 nm were synthesized in this system. Nanowires can also form in lammellar liquid crystals, but with larger diameters and may assembling into ribbon-like structures due to the lack of space limitation. The effect of the surfactant assemblies in the synthesis process and the formation mechanism of the nanowires in lamellar phases are still unclear.