Preparation of a Water‐Soluble ZnXCd1‐XS Quantum Dot Photocatalyst at Room Temperature Assisted by 3‐Mercaptopropionic Acid

Abstract

The effective path to synthesize Zn x Cd 1-x S quantum dots (ZCS QDs) in aqueous phase at room temperature have remained relatively unexplored. In this article, we developed the demonstration of a room-temperature, aqueous-phase approach to ZCS QDs, using 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) to adjust the pH of the reaction precursor solution to realize the competition between sulfur source and hydroxyl group, and realized the large-scale preparation of water-soluble ZCS QDs photocatalyst at room temperature. The photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) can reach 98% in 1 minute by adjusting the pH, the excess degree of sulfur source and the ratio of Zn/Cd without recombination with other materials, showing high photocatalytic activity. ZCS QDs show high stability and recoverability, it is expected to be able to deal with organic pollutants on a large scale, and also provide a new idea for the preparation of other QDs at room temperature.