Unusual Blueshifting of Optical Band Gap of CdS Nanocrystals through a Chemical Bath Deposition Method

CdS nanocrystals are synthesized through a chemical bath deposition method. After annealing, these nanocrystals are enlarged according to Scherrer’s formula. Small nanocrystals display wide band gaps as a result of the quantum effect experienced by nanocrystals of a certain size. However, the absorption edge and green and red emissions of annealed CdS nanocrystals show obvious blueshift compared with the as-grown ones. After annealing, the intensity ratio of these green and red emissions increases, which indicated that the defect states are reduced. Therefore, the improvement in crystalline quality and the reduced strain contribute to the unusual blueshifting of the optical band gap and of the green and red emissions.