Characterization and photoluminescence studies of CdTe nanoparticles before and after transfer from liquid phase to polystyrene

The major objective of this work was to detect the change of photoluminescence (PL) intensity of CdTe nanoparticles (NPs) before and after transfer from liquid phase to polystyrene (PS) matrix by electrospinning technique. Thio-stabilized CdTe NPs were first synthesized in aqueous, then enwrapped by cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), and finally, transferred into PS matrix to form CdTe/PS nanofibres by electrospinning. Then, CdTe/PS nanofibres were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) to observe their morphology and distribution, respectively. The selective area electronic diffraction (SAED) pattern proved that the CdTe NPs were cubic lattice. The PL spectrum indicated that CdTe NPs have been transferred into PS nanofibres, and the PL intensity of CdTe NPs in the nanofibres was even higher than that before CdTe NPs were introduced into PS nanofibres. Moreover, X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) revealed that thiol-stabilized CdTe NPs were enwrapped by CTAB, and PS acted as a dispersant in the process of electrospinning.