Viscoelastic wormlike micelles formed by ionic liquid-type surfactant [C16imC8]Br towards template-assisted synthesis of CdS quantum dots

Abstract

In this paper, viscoelastic wormlike micelles consisting of cationic liquid-type surfactant, 1-hexadecyl-3-octyl imidazolium bromide ([C₁₆imC₈]Br), water and different additives were utilized for the synthesis of CdS quantum dots. First, the influence of different additives, such as [Cd(NH₃)₆]Cl₂ and ethanethioamid (precursors for the synthesis of CdS quantum dots), and temperature on the viscoelasticity of the [C₁₆imC₈]Br aqueous solution was studied by dynamic and steady rheology. Furthermore, the synthesized CdS quantum dots and their photoluminescence properties were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). In the end, the mechanism for the synthesis of CdS quantum dots in [C₁₆imC₈]Br wormlike micelles is proposed.