Gallium sulfide and indium sulfide nanoparticles from complex precursors: Synthesis and characterization

Nanocrystalline gallium sulfide (Ga2S3) and indium sulfide (In2S3) have been prepared by a two-step process. The first step involves metathesis reaction of trimethyl gallium/indium ether adduct (Me3Ga/In·OEt2) with 1,2-ethanedithiol (HSCH2CH2SH) resulting in the formation of a polymeric precursor. The precursor complex has been characterized using Ga/In analysis, IR, proton NMR and mass spectroscopy. The thermal behavior of both complexes has been studied using thermogravimetric (TG) analysis. In the second step, these precursor complexes have been pyrolysed in furnace under flowing nitrogen atmosphere whereupon they undergo thermodestruction to yield nanometer-sized particles of gallium/indium sulfide. The nanoparticles obtained were characterized using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The average size of the nanoparticles ranged from 10 to 12 nm for Ga2S3 and 20 to 22 nm for In2S3, respectively. This is the first report on use of a binary single source precursor to synthesize β-Ga2S3 nanoparticles.