Surfactant-Mediated Solution-Liquid–Solid (SLS) Growth of Phase-Pure Wurtzite CdS Quantum Wires

Many semiconductor materials, including CdS, exist in multiple crystal phases such as wurtzite and zinc blende, making it challenging to selectively grow one phase over another in nanowire synthesis. Here, we present the first demonstration of achieving phase-pure nanowires using the solution-liquid–solid (SLS) mechanism. Through careful optimization of parameters such as Cd precursor reactivity, precursor S/Cd ratio, and reaction temperature, we successfully grow single-phase wurtzite CdS nanowires. This growth is facilitated under conditions where tri- n -octylphosphine (TOP) and cadmium di- n -octylphosphinate (Cd(DOPT) 2 ) are available to passivate and stabilize the side facets of the wurtzite CdS nuclei, thereby promoting the growth of wurtzite nanowires. Our findings highlight the importance of surfactants in controlling the crystal phase of SLS-grown nanowires and suggest the potential for growing phase-pure nanowires of other compositions by the SLS mechanism.