Preparation of Uniform Bi2S3 Nanorods Using Xanthate Complexes of Bismuth (III)

Orthorhombic Bi 2 S 3 nanorods were synthesized via hydrothermal treatment from a novel kind of single-source precursors, the adducts of Bi(S 2 COR) 3 [R = sec -butyl] with neutral ligands (pyridine [C 5 H 5 N] or 1,10-phenanthroline [C 12 H 8 N 2 ]). The decomposition of the complex [Bi(S 2 COC 4 H 9 ) 3 (C 5 H 5 N) 2 ] ( 1 ) produces Bi 2 S 3 nanorods with diameters in the range of 20−35 nm and lengths of hundreds of nanometers. The nanodispersed Bi 2 S 3 in dichloromethane maintains a long-term stability and shows a blue shift on the optical band edge with a band gap E g ≈ 1.67 eV. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy studies reveal that the Bi 2 S 3 nanorods are oriented in a [001] growth direction.