Synthesis and optical properties of nanosized CdS prepared in a quaternary CTAB/n-hexanol/n-heptane/water reverse micelle

Quaternary water-in-oil reverse micelles consisting of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), n-hexanol, n-heptane and water were prepared and characterized. The optimized reaction conditions were determined, and monodispersed droplets of the reverse micelles were used as microreactors to synthesize CdS nanoparticles. By using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-Vis spectroscopy and fluorescence spectroscopy, the influences of the reverse micelle components on the size, size distribution, morphology, stability and optical properties of CdS nanoparticles were investigated. CdS nanoparticles with narrow size distribution were obtained and the size range is 6-8 nm when W=24 (W=[water]/[CTAB]), F=5.27 (P=[n-hexanol]/ [CTAB]), [CTAB]=0.2 mol/L, [Cd2+] and [S2-] are 8.45×10-4 mol/L.