Synthesis of Cu2S Ultrasmall Nanoparticles in Zeolite 4A Nanoreactor

In this work, Cu2S ultrasmall nanoparticles were synthesized in a zeolite 4A nanoreactor (ZA) by the ion exchange method, which consisted of two steps: (1) the ion exchange of Na+, located in ZA, for Cu+ and Cu2+, and (2), formation of Cu2S nanoparticles, using Na2S by metathesis reaction (double displacement reaction). The molecular structure of ZA was verified by FT-IR and XRD and the formation of Cu2S nanoparticles in the ZA matrix by DSC, UV-Vis, Raman, TEM, and HRTEM characterizations. The results showed a non-modified molecular structure of the Z4 by synthesis of Cu2S nanoparticles with a size distribution of 4-8 nm.