Definition

Noun: 1. A compound of cadmium and sulfur: Cadmium sulphide is a chemical compound with the formula CdS. It is the primary form in which cadmium is found in nature as the mineral greenockite. 2. A semiconductor material: It is an important industrial material, used historically as a pigment (cadmium yellow) and in modern applications like solar cells, photodetectors, and light-emitting diodes due to its semiconductor properties.

Usage Examples

• As a mineral/compound:
  • The geologist identified the yellow crystalline deposit as cadmium sulphide.
  • The laboratory synthesized pure cadmium sulphide for the experiment.
• As an industrial material:
  • Early photovoltaic cells often used a thin film of cadmium sulphide.
  • Due to toxicity concerns, the use of cadmium sulphide as a pigment has declined.

Advanced Usage

• In nanotechnology: The term is used in contexts like "cadmium sulphide nanoparticles" or "CdS quantum dots," which are ultra-small particles with unique optical and electronic properties for advanced technologies.
  • The research focuses on the luminescent properties of cadmium sulphide quantum dots.

Variants and Related Words

• Cadmium sulfide: The American English spelling variant.
• Greenockite: The name of the natural mineral form of cadmium sulphide.
• CdS: The standard chemical formula abbreviation.

Synonyms

• Cadmium yellow (specifically when referring to its use as a pigment).
• (The) mineral greenockite.

Notes on Meaning

• The term almost exclusively refers to the specific chemical compound (CdS). It is a technical term used in chemistry, geology, and materials science. In general contexts, it is not a common word.

Noun

1. ore of cadmium; a rare yellowish mineral consisting of cadmium sulphide in crystalline form