Influence of Ni(2+) ions on the structural, morphological, photoluminescence, photo-catalytic and anti-bacterial studies of Cd(0.9)Zn(0.1)S nanostructures

The present investigation reported the controlled synthesis of Cd(0.9)Zn(0.1)S and Cd(0.89)Zn(0.1)Ni(0.01)S nanostructures by simple chemical co-precipitation route. The XRD analysis confirmed the cubic structure of CdS on Zn doped CdS and Zn, Ni dual doped CdS without any secondary/impurity phases and no alteration in CdS cubic phase was noticed by Zn/Ni addition. The shrinkage of crystallite size from 69 to 43 Å and the variation in lattice constants and micro-strain were described by the addition of Ni and the defects associated with Ni(2+) ions. Microstructural and optical studies of the prepared films were carried out using scanning electron microscope (SEM), UV-visible spectrometer and photoluminescence (PL) spectra. The enhanced optical absorbance in the visible wavelength and the reduced energy gap by Ni substitution showed that Cd(0.89)Zn(0.1)Ni(0.01)S nanostructures are useful to improve the efficiency of opto-electronic devices. The functional groups of Cd-S/Zn-Cd-S/Zn/Ni-Cd-S and their chemical bonding were verified by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) studies. The elevated visible PL emissions such as blue and green emissions by Ni addition was explained by decreasing of crystallite size and generation of more defects. Zn, Ni dual doped CdS nanostructures are identified as the probable an efficient photo-catalyst for the degradation of methylene blue dye. The liberation of more charge carriers, better visible absorbance, improved surface to volume ratio and the creation of more defects are accountable for the current photo-catalytic activity in Zn/Ni doped CdS which exhibited better photo-catalytic stability after sex cycling process. The better bacterial killing ability is noticed in Ni doped Cd(0.9)Zn(0.1)S nanostructure which is due to the collective effect of lower particle/grain size and also higher ROS producing capacity.