Synthesis of SnS 2 nanoparticles by a surfactant-mediated hydrothermal method and their characterization

SnS2 nanoparticles have been synthesized using a mild hydrothermal method in the presence of the surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) at 180 °C for 12 h. Physical investigations were carried out to study their structure, size, morphology and optical properties. The x-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern of the as-prepared sample is indexed to the hexagonal phase of SnS2 and the particle size is 100 nm, which is further confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The UV-visible spectrum shows that the absorption edge is blue shifted, and the band gap of the prepared SnS2 nanoparticles has been evaluated with UV-visible spectroscopy to be 3.54 eV, which is larger than the bulk SnS2 (~2.44 eV). The anionic surfactant SDS plays a key role in the formation of the 3D sphere like SnS2 nanostructures. A probable reaction for the formation of nanocrystalline SnS2 nanoparticles is proposed.