Photoluminescence kinetics in CdS nanoclusters formed by the Langmuir–Blodgett technique

The photoluminescence kinetics in CdS nanocrystals produced by the Langmuir–Blodgett technique is studied at a temperature of 5 K. The photoluminescence kinetics is described by the sum of two exponential functions, with characteristic times of about 30 and 160 ns. It is found that the fast and slow decay times become longer, as the nanocrystal size increases. Analysis of the data shows that the fast decay time is controlled by trion recombination in nanocrystals with defects, whereas the slow decay time is controlled by the annihilation of optically inactive excitons in nanocrystals without defects. It is established that, as the nanocrystal size is decreased, the fraction of imperfect nanocrystals is reduced because of an increase in the energy of defect formation.