Structural and Optical Properties of CdZnS/PVP and Cr<sub>x</sub>: Cd<sub>0.5-x</sub>Zn<sub>0.5</sub>S/PVP Nanoparticles

The synthesis of Cd 0.5 Zn 0.5 S/PVP and Cr x : Cd 0.5-x Zn 0.5 S/PVP(x = 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, 0.08) nanoparticles were carried out using a chemical co-precipitation reaction using homogeneous solutions of cadmium, zinc and chromium salts. The impact of Cr doping on the morphological, structural, and optical characteristics of nanoparticles was investigated in this study. Energy dispersive analysis of X-rays (EDAX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Diffuse Reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) have been utilized to examine the structural, optical, and morphological properties of elements. EDAX analysis verified the existence of chromium (Cr) within the cadmium zinc sulphide (CdZnS) crystal structure. The XRD analysis revealed that the Cr doped CdZnS nanoparticles exhibited crystallization in the zincblende structure, with a predominant orientation along the (1 1 1) plane. The nanoparticles have an average size ranging from 3 to 6 nm. The particle size determined from the SEM images corresponded with the findings from the XRD analysis. The DRS revealed that the increase in Cr concentration caused a shift of the absorption edge towards lower wavelengths. The bandgap energy estimates ranged from 3.85 to 4.05 eV. The blueshift is caused by the quantum confinement phenomenon.