Electrical and optical studies of pure and Ni-doped CdS quantum dots

Quantum dots of CdS and Ni-doped CdS were synthesized through chemical precipitation method using a high-boiling solvent. Nanocrystallinity of the as prepared nanostructure is confirmed using X-ray diffraction (XRD). The mean crystal size obtained by full-width half maxima (FWHM) analysis is 3.33 nm for CdS, 3.37 nm for CdS:Ni (2 mM) and 3.39 nm for CdS:Ni (4 mM). The electrical conductivity data reveal semiconducting behaviour of both pure CdS and Ni-doped CdS nano-crystals. The optical absorption analysis conducted in UV–vis range 200–900 nm reveals the transparency of these nanocrystals in entire visible range but not in ultraviolet range. The results based on optical analysis yield band gap values as 2.65 eV for CdS, 2.59 eV for CdS:Ni (2 mM) and 2.53 eV for CdS:Ni (4 mM) nanoparticles. This implies that pure CdS and Ni doped CdS are blue shifted with respect to the bulk CdS (2.42 eV); however, Nickel doped CdS nanocrystals are red shifted with respect to pure CdS nanocrystals.