Synthesis of (Bi1- x Sb x )2S3 solid solutions via thermal decomposition of bismuth and antimony piperidinedithiocarbamates

Walter N Kun; Paul D McNaughter; Linda D Nyamen; Ben F Spencer; Paul O'Brien; Peter T Ndifon; Neerish Revaprasadu

doi:10.1039/c9ra01127g

Synthesis of (Bi_{1- x} Sb _x )₂S₃ solid solutions via thermal decomposition of bismuth and antimony piperidinedithiocarbamates

RSC Adv. 2019 May 21;9(28):15836-15844. doi: 10.1039/c9ra01127g. eCollection 2019 May 20.

Authors

Walter N Kun^{1

2}, Paul D McNaughter², Linda D Nyamen¹, Ben F Spencer³, Paul O'Brien^{2

3}, Peter T Ndifon¹, Neerish Revaprasadu⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Yaoundé I. P. O. Box 812 Yaoundé Cameroon.
² School of Materials, University of Manchester Oxford Road Manchester M13 9PL UK.
³ Schools of Chemistry and Materials, University of Manchester Oxford Road Manchester M13 9PL UK.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, University of Zululand Private Bag X1001, Kwa-Dlangezwa 3886 South Africa RevaprasaduN@unizulu.ac.za.

Abstract

The synthesis of the complete range of (Bi_1-x Sb _x )₂S₃ solid solutions, where 0 ≤ x ≤ 1, by the variation of the mole ratio of bismuth and antimony piperidine dithiocarbamate complexes is reported. There was a near linear expansion of a and c lattice parameters as the mole ratio of the antimony precursor was increased. The composition of the particles directionally followed the amount of precursor ratio used. When the composition of particles was compared to cell parameters, a slight deviation from Vegard's law was observed with a corresponding contraction of the b parameter and an approximately 3.5% reduction of the lattice volume. The nanorods obtained showed aspect ratios that depend on the composition of the material. The Bi and Sb rich materials had high aspect ratios of 16.58 and 16.58 respectively with a minimum aspect ratio of 2.58 observed for x = 0.50.