Room temperature synthesis of flower-like CuS nanostructures under assistance of ionic liquid

Abstract

Flower-like CuS nanostructures have been synthesized via a liquid precipitation route by the reaction between CuCl2·2H2O and thioacetamide (CH3CSNH2, TAA) in the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methyl imidazole six hexafluorophosphoric acid salts ([BMIM][PF6]) aqueous solution at room temperature. The products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electronic microscopy (FESEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), Ultraviolet-Visible Spectrophotometer (UV-Vis) and Photoluminescence (PL) techniques. The as-prepared CuS nanostructures have a mean diameter of about 1 μm. A plausible mechanism was proposed to explain the formation of CuS nanostructures. The effects of experimental parameters on the formation of the products were also explored. With BET theory, it is found that the as-prepared CuS nanostructures have a specific area of 39m2/g. The Barrett-Joyner-Halenda (BJH) pore size distribution of the as-prepared CuS nanostructures presents smaller pores centers about 60 nm.The UV-Vis and PL curves indicate that the asprepared CuS nanostructures are promising candidates for the development of photoelectric devices.