FULL PAPER Mesoporous cadmium sulfide nanoparticles derived from a new cadmium anthranilato complex: Characterization and induction of morphological abnormalities in pathogenic fungi Ahmed B.M. Ibrahim 1 | Amna S.A. Zidan 1 | Aref A.M. Aly 1 | Hanan K. Mosbah 1 | Ghada Abd-Elmonsef Mahmoud 2 1 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Assiut University, Assiut, 71515, Egypt 2 Department of Botany & Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Assiut University, Assiut, 71515, Egypt Correspondence Ahmed B.M. Ibrahim, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Assiut University, Assiut 71515, Egypt. Email: aibrahim@aun.edu.eg Funding information The Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the Faculty of Science, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt; Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the Faculty of Science, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt Abstract A cadmium complex of the general formula Cd(C 13 H 9 O 2 NCl) 2 (H 2 O) 2 {C 13 H 9 O 2 NCl = 2-(4-chlorophenylamino)benzoate} was synthesized and charac- terized regarding its CHN data, solution molar conductivity and spectroscopic (UV–Vis. and IR) properties. Cadmium sulfide nanoparticles (CdS NPs) were grown form the microcrystalline complex and thiourea via a hydrothermal route. The as-prepared NPs were assigned based on X-ray powder diffraction (PXRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), field emission scanning elec- tron microscopy (FE-SEM) and Brunauer – Emmett – Teller (BET) surface area measurements. The CdS absorption and emission spectra were also recorded that revealed an energy gap of 2.47 eV and large Stokes shift of 130 nm. For the as-prepared NPs, the measurements have also indicated a mesoporous structure and an average particle size of 20–28 nm associated with an average pore diame- ter of 11.21 nm. The as-synthesized CdS NPs acted as antifungal controlling agent against human and plant pathogenic fungi of serious environmental and health concerns. The NPs at concentration of 200 ppm inhibited several fungi with inhibition efficiency of 100% against Aspergillus ustus Au-28. The nanoparticles induced morphological abnormalities in fungal mycelia, conidia and vesicle. Additionally, they inhibited the conidia septum formation, acceler- ated the chlamydospores generation and enlarged the yeast cells. KEYWORDS antifungal agent, chalcogenide nanostructures, fungal morphology, microscopic imaging, X-ray diffraction 1 | INTRODUCTION Cadmium sulfide, being exploited in various technologies including luminescence devices, [1,2] solar cells, [3,4] gas sensors [5,6] and light-emitting diodes, [7,8] has attracted the focus of many research groups. However, as the CdS NPs' electrical, optical, mechanical and catalytic proper- ties change dramatically in comparison to those exhibited by their bulk counterparts, it is becoming crucial to acquire CdS NPs with favorable size and shape. [9] Synthesis of CdS NPs follows a number of strategies, e.g. electrochemical, [10] hydrothermal, [11,12] solvother- Received: 23 August 2019 Revised: 28 October 2019 Accepted: 5 November 2019 DOI: 10.1002/aoc.5391 Appl Organometal Chem. 2019;e5391. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/aoc © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 1 of 9 https://doi.org/10.1002/aoc.5391