Optical properties and self-assembly of Ag2S nanoparticles synthesized by a one-pot method

Spherical silver sulfide (Ag2S) nanoparticles have been synthesized using a simple and one-pot route, which is a direct heating process using silver acetate and n-dodecanethiol as raw materials. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) were used to confirm the size, morphology and crystal structure of as-obtained Ag2S nanoparticles. The size of the products can be tuned by controlling the reaction time, and the growth process of the samples has been studied by employing UV-vis absorption spectra. Furthermore, these Ag2S nanoparticles have a high tendency to self-assemble into two- or three-dimensional superlattice structures. This one-pot approach may be extended to synthesis of other metal sulfides nanoparticles. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.