Temperature dependence of photoluminescence of CdS nanoclusters formed in the Langmuir-Blodgett film matrix

The photoluminescence of the CdS nanoclusters formed in the matrix of a Langmuir-Blodgett film is studied in the temperature range 5–300 K. At the temperature 5 K, the photoluminescence spectrum of the nanocrystals consists of two bands, with peaks at 2.95 and 2.30 eV. The temperature dependence of the position of the high-energy photoluminescence band differs from the temperature dependence of the band gap of the CdS bulk crystal. The integrated photoluminescence intensity of this band decreases as temperature increases in the range from 5 to 75 K, increases in the range from 150 to 230 K, and decreases above 230 K. The experimental data are interpreted in the context of the model of recombination of nonequilibrium charge carriers in CdS nanoclusters with regard to the charge-carrier transport in locally coupled clusters different in size. In the model, the energy depth of the traps for electrons is estimated at 120 meV; the estimations of the activation energies of nonradiative recombination yield 5 and 100 meV.