Synthesis, spectral and thermal studies of pyridyl adducts of Zn(ii) and Cd(ii) dithiocarbamates, and their use as single source precursors for ZnS and CdS nanoparticles

The synthesis, spectroscopic characterisation, and thermal studies of pyridyl adducts of Zn(ii) and Cd(ii) complexes of N-ethyl-N-phenyl dithiocarbamate, represented as [ZnL₂py] and [CdL₂py ₂], are reported. Single-crystal X-ray structural analysis of the Zn compound showed that it is five-coordinate with four sulphurs from dithiocarbamate and one nitrogen from pyridine in a distorted square pyramidal geometry. The thermogravimetric studies indicate that the zinc and cadmium compounds undergo fast weight loss, and the temperature at maximum rate of decomposition is at 277 °C and 265 °C respectively, to give the metal (Zn or Cd) sulphide residues. These compounds were used as single molecule precursors to produce nanocrystalline MS (M = Zn, Cd) after thermolysis in hexadecylamine. The morphological and optical properties of the resulting MS nanocrystallites were investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV-Vis absorption and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, and powdered X-ray diffraction (XRD). By varying the growth time, the temporal evolution of the optical properties and morphology of the nanocrystals were investigated.