Surfactant-assisted hydrothermal synthesis of CdS nanotips: optical and magnetic properties

CdS nanotips with size 5–8 nm are synthesized by hydrothermal process using polyacrylamide (PAM) as surfactant. The shape of nanocrystals (NCs) changes from particles to nanorods or nanotips depending upon the amount of PAM used. Optical properties of the CdS NCs vary with hydrothermal temperature (TH) due to formation of "S" vacancies. The Rietveld refinement of XRD data shows that "S" site occupancy decreases with increase in TH and amount of PAM indicating the formation of "S" vacancies. Size-dependent magnetic properties in these NCs indicate that the micron-size rods are diamagnetic in nature while the microrods ended with sharp tips show ferromagnetism even at room temperature. The origin of this ferromagnetism in nanotips is explained by the variation in density of "S" defects at the nanotips as well as in the nanorods. These ferromagnetic nanotips grown in the rods as side growth have potential applications in magnetic force microscopes.