Facile covalent immobilization of cadmium sulfide quantum dots on graphene oxide nanosheets: preparation, characterization, and optical properties

A facile approach for the preparation of a novel hybrid material containing graphene and an inorganic semiconducting material, cadmium sulfide quantum dots (CdS QDs), is demonstrated for the first time. First, amino-functionalized CdS QDs were prepared by modifications of the kinetic trapping method. Then, pristine graphite was oxidized and exfoliated to obtain graphene oxide nanosheets (GONS), which were then acylated with thionyl chloride to introduce acyl chloride groups on their surface. Subsequently, immobilization of the CdS QDs on the GONS surface was achieved through an amidation reaction between the amino groups located on the CdS QDs surface and the acyl chloride groups bound to the GONS surface. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), H-1 nuclear magnetic resonance (H-1-NMR), x-ray diffraction (XRD), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) spectroscopy were employed to investigate the changes in the surface functionalities, while high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and field emission scanning electronic microscopy (FE-SEM) were used to study the morphologies and distribution of the CdS QDs on the GONS surface. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was employed to characterize the weight loss of the samples on heating. Photoluminescence (PL) measurements were used to study the optical properties of the prepared CdS QDs and the CdS-graphene hybrid material.