A novel and facile route for the synthesis of water-soluble cadmium sulfide quantum dots

Herein, a novel and facile method for preparing highly water-soluble CdS nanoparticles has been developed. Cadmium acetate dehydrate was mixed in thiourea solution, using ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) as complexing agent. Electronic accelerator was used as radiation source. CdS nanoparticles were prepared rapidly at room temperature under atmospheric pressure without any kind of toxic reagents. Unlike those traditional routes, this method is facile and green, free of high temperature and toxic reagent. The prepared CdS nanoparticles had an average diameter about 3 nm. The product showed quantum confinement fluorescing in the blue region and dispersed in water well, which make it potentially using as fluorescent biomarkers. Meantime, the prepared CdS nanoparticles showed the photocatalytic activity to degrade organic pollutant.