We have studied the hole levels and exciton states in CdS nanocrystals by using the hole effective-mass Hamiltonian for wurtzite structure. It is found that the optically passive $P_x$ state will become the ground hole state for small CdS quantum dots of radius less than 69 Å. It suggests that the “dark exciton” would be more easily observed in the CdS quantum dots than that in CdSe quantum dots. The size dependence of the resonant Stokes shift is predicted for CdS quantum dots. Including the Coulomb interaction, exciton energies as functions of the dot radius are calculated and compared with experimental data.

• Received 21 March 2000

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.62.12613