Growth of Cu₂S Ultrathin Nanowires in a Binary Surfactant Solvent

Abstract

We demonstrate a facile solution-phase method for the synthesis of single-crystal, high aspect ratio, and ultrathin nanowires of hexagonal-phase Cu2S by thermal decomposition of CuS2CNEt2 in a mixed surfactant solvent of dodecanethiol and oleic acid at 160 degrees C. Cu2S nanowires can be controllably synthesized with a diameter as thin as 1.7 nm and length up to tens of micrometers; they are usually aligned in the form of bundles with a thickness of hundreds of nanometers. Based on the experimental results, the formation mechanism of the ultrathin nanowires has been properly proposed. Some key synthetic parameters, which have a significant effect on the sizes and shapes of the products, have also been investigated in detail. UV-vis spectroscopy measurement reveals that the resultant ultrathin nanowires show a strong quantum size effect.

A general method for the large-scale synthesis of uniform ultrathin metal sulphide nanocrystals

“…Increasing interest in ultrathin nanomaterials is due to their attractive properties and various potential applications [6][7][8][9] . In particular, ultrathin metal sulphide nanocrystals have drawn tremendous attention owing to their unique properties arising from their exceptionally small dimensions and the resultant quantum size effects [10][11][12][13][14][15][16] . Importantly, the easy preparation and processability of these nanostructures makes them promising building blocks for a wide range of applications.…”

“…Examples include the sub-2 nm-diameter Cu 2 S (ref. 10), ZnS (refs 11,12), Bi 2 S 3 (ref. 13) and Sb 2 S 3 (ref.…”

Size Dependence of a Temperature-Induced Solid–Solid Phase Transition in Copper(I) Sulfide

“…Our results also provide context for several reported observations of high chalcocite phases in nanoparticles existing at low temperatures. 11,13 The uniquely low-temperature solid-solid transition observed for copper(I) sulfide suggests real-world applicability of this phase-change material, while making a broader call for characterization of additional materials whose phase diagrams enable transitions between functional crystal phases at room temperature.…”

Redetermination of the crystal structure of bis(N-methyl-N-phenyldithiocarbamato- κ2S,S’)copper(II), C16H16CuN2S4

“…Copper dithiocarbamate is one of the preferred candidates for the development of anticancer agents [2]. It has also been employed as synthetic precursors for the deposition of CuS nanoparticles [3,4].Copper (II)bis(dithiocarbamate) complexes can assumee itheram onomeric or dimeric structure. While the monomeric structures adopt thesquareplanararrangement, the dimeric complexes have fivecoordinategeometryatthe copper ion [5].The crystal structure of the title compound has been reported once before [6], where the data was obtained at room temperature and the structure reported in an on-standard space group, with the 3D coordinates of the methyl hydrogens not given.…”