Characteristics and optical properties of Cd1−xMnxS nanorods prepared through hydrothermal route

Abstract CdS semiconductor nanorods doped with different contents of manganese have been successfully prepared by the hydrothermal reaction of CdCl 2 · 2.5H 2 O and MnCl 2 · 5H 2 O with (NH 4 ) 2 S in aqueous solution at 180 °C. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) show that these samples are almost total rod-like with approximately identical diameter around 20 nm and the maximal length up to 300 nm. Novel optical properties have been observed via UV–Visual absorption spectra and photoluminescence (PL) spectra. The absorption shoulder and the two luminescence emission peaks have shifted in different way as the mole ratio of manganese in the nanorods varies. A possible PL mechanism is suggested to explain this spectroscopy behavior.