The curious case of CdTe/CdS: photoabsorption versus photoemission

Abstract

The potential of nanomaterials arises from the fine tuning of material properties by changing their composition, size and shape. Here, we show that by varying the local Cd and Te/S environment using CdTe/CdS as the host, a highly promising photovoltaic material can be easily converted to an efficient photo-emitting material. Thus we demonstrate for the first time that the internal structure can be used to tune the properties of the nanomaterial leading to competing and contrasting applications.