Liquid-phase synthesis of EuS nanocrystals and their physical properties

The first EuS nanocrystals were prepared by the reaction of europium metal and H2S in liquid ammonia. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns and TEM images supported the formation of nanoscaled EuS crystals with average size of 20.4 nm. The nanocrystals showed blue shift compared with previously reported EuS films. The Curie point of EuS nanocrystals (16.6 K) was the same as that of the corresponding bulk compound, but a decreasing of magnetic moment was found because of the specific surface condition of the nanocrystals.