Solvothermal synthesis and optical limiting properties of carbon nanotube-based hybrids containing ternary chalcogenides

Two or three types of semiconductor nanoparticles (NPs) have been deposited on the sidewalls of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) by a solvothermal treatment of a mixture containing poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS) wrapped MWCNTs, metal chloride (CuCl2 and SnCl2), and thiourea. Changing the ratio of Cu2+ to Sn2+ alters the composition of the resultant MWCNT-PSS-NP hybrids. Under Cu/Sn ratios of 3:1 and 2:1, MWCNTs can be simultaneously decorated with Cu2S and Cu3SnS4 NPs. When the ratio is reduced to 1:1, Cu3SnS4, Cu2S and SnO2 NPs would be formed at the same time. Further decreasing the ratio results in the formation of Cu2SnS3 and SnO2 instead of Cu3SnS4 and Cu2S. Open-aperture z-scan measurements have been carried out on three typical MWCNT-PSS-NP samples to study their optical limiting (OL) properties. The addition of semiconductor NPs can improve the OL performance of MWCNTs, and the composition of the NPs has a significant effect on the OL behavior of the hybrids. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.