Sacrificial template synthesis and characterization of photoluminescent silver sulfide nanochains

Abstract

Branched nanochains of silver sulfide (Ag2S) have been synthesized by using silver nanochains as templates by a chemical solution route. The synthesized nanochains were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, particle size by dynamic light scattering technique, and photoluminescence studies. In a series of comparative experiments with varying concentration of reactants, products having same structure and morphology were obtained. The size of the synthesized nanoparticles was found in range of 30–60 nm. Ag2S nanoparticles produce characteristic blue–green emission at 480 and 520 nm when excited at 378 nm.