The present letter reports a facile synthetic strategy in octadecene(ODE)/glycerol interfaces to prepare CdS quantum dots (QDs) with bright bandgap emission. In this synthesis, the precursors were not synthesized as a preceding step, but all chemicals were reacted simultaneously in a one-pot reaction. The monodispersed CdS QDs were synthesized in ODE/glycerol interfaces at 140, 160 and 180 degrees C, respectively. The thermodynamic equilibrium was proposed to explain the growth mechanism of CdS QDs in the ODE/glycerol interfaces. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.