Self‐assembly of Copper Sulfide Nanoparticles to Solid, Hollow Spherical and Wire‐Shaped Structures

Abstract

Copper sulfides, such as Cu 7 S 4 , Cu 1.8 S, Cu 1.81 S and Cu 2 S, in the wire-like, and solid and hollow ball-like shapes congregated from nano-spherical particles and nanoslices, have been prepared by a solvothermal method using a mixture of water and ethylene glycol as solvent. CuSO 4 and thiourea were used as the starting materials without assistance of any surfactant or template. The results show that the water content in the solvent affects the morphology of the samples, and the reaction time and temperature affect the crystal structure and morphology. On the basis of the obtained results, the formation processes of different morphologies of copper sulfides can be interpreted by the following mechanism: nanoparticles of copper sulfides initially formed, then the wire-like structures were gradually created, and finally translated to solid and hollow spherical structures under the different experimental conditions.

Nanoscale copper sulfide hollow spheres with phase-engineered composition: covellite (CuS), digenite (Cu1.8S), chalcocite (Cu2S)

“…14 Finally, polydisperse hollow spheres of Cu 2 S, Cu 1.8 S and Cu 1.75 S with outer diameters ranging from 2-4 mm have been realized by Nan et al via ethylene-glycol-mediated solvothermal synthesis. 15 In sum, all experimental work presented till now is limited to polycrystalline hollow spheres with outer diameters that most often largely exceed the nanoregime (i. e. d < 100 nm).…”

Fast Synthesis, Formation Mechanism, and Control of Shell Thickness of CuS Hollow Spheres

“…fields, such as a sensor, solar radiation absorber, catalyst, and nanometer-scale switch, and so on. [26][27][28][29] At present, several methods, such as solvothermal-microwave, solvothermal, hydrothermal, chemical conversion, and sonication methods, [30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42] have been used to synthesize CuS hollow spheres. For example, Xie's and Qian's group prepared CuS hollow spheres under hydrothermal condition at 160-180 °C for 12-24 h. [34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43] 40 Thongtem prepared CuS hollow spheres using a solvothermal-microwave process.…”

“…As an important semiconductor with unique electronic, optical, and chemical properties, copper monosulfide (CuS) is a promising material with potential application in many fields, such as a sensor, solar radiation absorber, catalyst, and nanometer-scale switch, and so on. − At present, several methods, such as solvothermal-microwave, solvothermal, hydrothermal, chemical conversion, and sonication methods, − have been used to synthesize CuS hollow spheres. For example, Xie’s and Qian’s group prepared CuS hollow spheres under hydrothermal condition at 160−180 °C for 12−24 h. − Zhu et al developed a thioglycolic acid assisted hydrothermal process to synthesize submicrometer-sized CuS hollow spheres at 200 °C for 20 h .…”