Sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate-assisted synthesis through a hydrothermal reaction

The effects of the anionic surfactant on the morphology, size and crystallization of NiSe precipitated from NiCl2 center dot 6H(2)O and SeCl4 in presence of hydrazine (N2H4 center dot H2O) as reductant were investigated. The products have been successfully synthesized in presence of sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SOBS) as surfactant via an improved hydrothermal route. A variety of synthesis parameters, such as reaction time and temperature, capping agent and amount of reducing agent have a significant effect on the particle size, phase purity and morphology of the obtained products. The sample size became bigger with decreasing reaction temperature and increasing reaction time. In the presence of 2 ml hydrazine, the samples were found to be the mixture of Ni3Se2 and NiSe. With increasing the reaction time and amount of hydrazine a pure phase of hexagonal NiSe was obtained. X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images indicate phase, particle size and morphology of the products. Chemical composition and purity of the products were characterized by X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Photoluminescence (PL) was used to study the optical properties of NiSe samples. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.