Structural, morphological and optical characterization of CdS-doped silica aerogels synthesized through sol-gel method Prashant B. Lihitkar, Sonali Kale, Rakesh A. Afre, Diego Pugliese Materials Research Bulletin, 2025 • CdS-doped silica aerogels synthesized via room temperature and supercritical drying • Observed blue, green, and red emissions due to surface and defect states • XRD confirmed partial retention of CdS quantum dots in the silica matrix • Defect-driven emissions linked to sulfur vacancies and substitutional defects Aerogels are highly porous materials characterized by ultra-low density. The incorporation of luminescent materials into silica aerogels results in luminescent aerogels, which have potential applications in light-emitting diodes and optoelectronic devices. In this study, the photoluminescence properties of CdS-doped silica aerogels are reported. The CdS-doped silica aerogels exhibited three distinct emission bands in the blue, green, and red regions. The blue emission is attributed to localized trap states on the CdS surface, while the green emission is associated with sulfur and cation vacancies. The red emission is linked to the substitution of sulfur traps by other counter ions. Supercritical drying of the CdS-doped aerogels resulted in the removal of quantum dots, indicating the non-covalent bonding of CdS nanoparticles to the silica matrix. However, a fraction of the quantum dots remained embedded in the aerogel, as evidenced by weak emission bands and the X-ray diffraction patterns of CdS nanocrystals.
Structural, morphological and optical characterization of CdS-doped silica aerogels synthesized through sol-gel method PB Lihitkar, S Kale, RA Afre, D Pugliese Materials Research Bulletin 192, 113590 , 2025 2025 Citations: 6
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Superior hydrogen production rate by catalytic hydrolysis of ammonia borane using Co-B nanoparticles supported over mesoporous silica particles N Patel, R Fernandes, R Edla, PB Lihitkar, DC Kothari, A Miotello Catalysis Communications 23, 39-42 , 2012 2012 Citations: 32
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Titania nanoparticles synthesis in mesoporous molecular sieve MCM-41 NB Lihitkar, MK Abyaneh, V Samuel, R Pasricha, SW Gosavi, SK Kulkarni Journal of colloid and interface science 314 (1), 310-316 , 2007 2007 Citations: 104
Confinement of zinc oxide nanoparticles in ordered mesoporous silica MCM-41 PB Lihitkar, S Violet, M Shirolkar, J Singh, ON Srivastava, RH Naik, ... Materials Chemistry and Physics 133 (2-3), 850-856 , 2012 2012 Citations: 88
Speckled SiO 2 @Au Core–Shell Particles as Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering Probes P Khurana, S Thatai, P Wang, P Lihitkar, L Zhang, Y Fang, SK Kulkarni Plasmonics 8 (2), 185-191 , 2013 2013 Citations: 43
Superior hydrogen production rate by catalytic hydrolysis of ammonia borane using Co-B nanoparticles supported over mesoporous silica particles N Patel, R Fernandes, R Edla, PB Lihitkar, DC Kothari, A Miotello Catalysis Communications 23, 39-42 , 2012 2012 Citations: 32
Optical investigations of interaction between zinc tetra phenyl porphyrin and CdSe nanoparticles NB Lihitkar, SB Singh, J Singh, ON Srivastava, RH Naik, SK Kulkarni Chemical Physics Letters 483 (4-6), 227-232 , 2009 2009 Citations: 10
Structural, morphological and optical characterization of CdS-doped silica aerogels synthesized through sol-gel method PB Lihitkar, S Kale, RA Afre, D Pugliese Materials Research Bulletin 192, 113590 , 2025 2025 Citations: 6