Preparation of Sb2S3 nanomaterials with different morphologies via a refluxing approach

Abstract Single-crystalline antimony trisulfide (Sb 2 S 3 ) nanomaterials with flower-like and rod-like morphologies were successfully synthesized under refluxing conditions by the reaction of antimony trichloride (SbCl 3 ) and thiourea with PEG400 and OP-10 as the surfactants. X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicates that the obtained sample is orthorhombic-phase Sb 2 S 3 with calculated lattice parameters a =1.124 nm, b =1.134 nm and c =0.382 nm. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images show that the flower-like Sb 2 S 3 is 9–10 μm in size, which is composed of thin leaves with thickness of 0.05–0.2 μm, width of 0.8–2.2 μm and length of 2.5–3 μm, and the rod-like Sb 2 S 3 is 45–360 nm in diameter and 0.7–4 μm in length, respectively. UV–Vis analysis indicates that the band gap of Sb 2 S 3 nanorods is 1.52 eV, suitable for photovoltaic conversion. A possible mechanism of formation was proposed. The effects of reaction time and surfactants on the growth of nanomaterials with different morphologies were also investigated.