Growth of nanocrystalline thin films of metal sulfides [CdS, ZnS, CuS and PbS] at the water–oil interface

P. John Thomas; Gemma L. Stansfield; Nathanael Komba; David J. H. Cant; Karthik Ramasamy; Enteisar Albrasi; Hanan Al-Chaghouri; Karen L. Syres; Paul O'Brien; Wendy R. Flavell; Egid Mubofu; Federica Bondino; Elena Magnano

doi:10.1039/C5RA09417H

Growth of nanocrystalline thin films of metal sulfides [CdS, ZnS, CuS and PbS] at the water–oil interface

P. John Thomas,*^a Gemma L. Stansfield,^b Nathanael Komba,^b David J. H. Cant,^b Karthik Ramasamy,^b Enteisar Albrasi,^b Hanan Al-Chaghouri,^b Karen L. Syres,^c Paul O'Brien,^bd Wendy R. Flavell,^e Egid Mubofu,^f Federica Bondino^g and Elena Magnano^g

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* Corresponding authors

^a School of Chemistry, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd, UK
E-mail: john.thomas@bangor.ac.uk

^b School of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M139PL, UK

^c School of Chemistry, The University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK

^d School of Materials, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M139PL, UK

^e Photon Science Institute, School of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK

^f Department of Chemistry, University of Dar es Salaam, P.O. Box 35061, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

^g IOM CNR, Laboratorio Nazionale TASC, Area Science Park-Basovizza, S.S. 14 Km. 163,5, I-34149 Basovizza, TS, Italy

Abstract

Simple one pot reactions between thiobiuret complexes [M(SON(CNⁱPr₂)₂)₂], (M = Cd, Zn, Pb or Cu) in toluene and aqueous Na₂S lead to well-defined assemblies of nanocrystals. High quality thin films of CdS, ZnS, CuS and PbS nanoparticulates adhered to the interface are produced and are transferable to glass and other substrates. The effect of reaction parameters on the nature and properties of the deposits are examined. The films are characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transport property measurements, X-ray photoelectron and absorption spectroscopy. The ability to obtain thin films of several nanocrystalline semiconductors from a single precursor set significantly expands the scope of a reaction scheme that is still in its infancy.

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Growth of nanocrystalline thin films of metal sulfides [CdS, ZnS, CuS and PbS] at the water–oil interface

Abstract

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Growth of nanocrystalline thin films of metal sulfides [CdS, ZnS, CuS and PbS] at the water–oil interface

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