Thermal Decomposition and Hydrothermal Synthesis of Copper Sulfide Nanostructures

Cu2S nanocrystals were synthesized by thermal decomposition process. [bis(thiosemicarbazide)copper(II)]chloride; ([Cu(TSC)2]Cl2), complex was used as precursor. The steric hindrance of the precursor raises the need of using co-surfactant, therefore oleylamine (C18H37N) and triphenylphosphine (C18H15P) were applied as solvent and surfactant of the reaction. CuS nanocrystals were synthesized via hydrothermal decomposition of [bis(thiosemicarbazide) copper(II)] without any surfactant. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and photoluminescence spectroscopy. Synthesized copper sulfide nanostructures have average size of 20–50 nm. Finally, optical properties of the products were examined and investigated by PL spectra.