Simultaneous and rapid microwave synthesis of polyacrylamide-metal sulfide (Ag2S, Cu2S, HgS) nanocomposites

Polyacrylamide-metal sulfide (Ag2S, Cu2S, HgS) nanocomposites with metal sulfide nanoparticles homogeneously dispersed in the polyacrylamide (PAM) matrix have been successfully synthesized using corresponding metal salt, sulfur powder, and acrylamide monomer (AM) in ethylene glycol (EG) by microwave heating. This method is based on the simultaneous formation of metal sulfide nanoparticles and polymerization of the AM, leading to a homogeneous distribution of metal sulfide nanoparticles in PAM matrix without aggregation. EG acts simultaneously as a solvent, a microwave absorber, and a reductant; thus no additional reductant is needed. Another advantage is that no initiator for AM polymerization and no surfactant for the stabilization of these metal sulfide nanoparticles are necessary. The products are characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), ultraviolet visible (UV-vis) absorption spectra, photoluminescence (PL), thermogravimetric (TG), and differential scanning calorimetric analysis (DSC). The present method may be extended to prepare other polymer-metal sulfide nanocomposites.