A versatile solution route for oxide/sulfide core-shell nanostructures and nonlayered sulfide nanotubes

Large-scale, uniform and regular oxide/sulfide core-shell nanostructures and nonlayered sulfide nanotubes, such as ZnO/ZnS, SnO2/SnS2, MnO2/MnS2 core-shell nanostructures, as well as ZnS and SnS2 nanotubes, have been prepared by a versatile approach based on a thioglycolic acid assisted hydrothermal process and subsequent NaOH treatment. The above-mentioned nanostructures have been characterized by x-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). Moreover, the role of thioglycolic acid for the formation of oxide/sulfide core-shell and nonlayered sulfide nanotubes has been identified. Finally, the formation mechanism for the derived nanostructures has been phenomenologically presented.