| Summary: | The nanoscale semiconductor β‐mercuric
sulphide (HgS) has promising applications in electronic
and optical fields. Continued development of synthesis
methods is needed to expand approaches that produce
uniform particles, while avoiding reagents of high
toxicity and ecological impact. A solvent‐based approach
was developed using mercuric chloride and elemental
sulphur as the mercury and chalcogenide sources.
Ethanol was used as the solvent and sodium hydroxide as
the hydrolysis reagent. Use of mild sonication resulted in
smaller particles (average 11nm diameter) than without
sonication treatment (average 17nm diameter) and
continuous nitrogen purging reduced the surface oxygen
content of the particles from approximately 25% to 6%.
Particle characterization methods included TEM, XRD,
XPS, UV‐visible absorbance spectroscopy and DLS. The
nanoparticles were typically spheres of 10‐15nm in
diameter. Aggregates formed in aqueous solutions
tended to be in the range of 100nm or more. The overall
process can be performed simply at room temperature
and is comparatively free of toxic chemical hazards. The
process does not include surfactants or other stabilizers
that could potentially contaminate the nanocrystals. In
principle, the method could be applied to synthesis of
other metal chalcogenide nanoparticles.
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