Solvothermal growth of single-crystal bismuth sulfide nanorods using bismuth particles as source material

Bismuth sulfide (Bi2S3) nanorods have been successfully synthesized by a solvothermal process using bismuth (Bi) particles and Na2S2O3 as source materials. The X-ray powder diffraction patterns show that the as-obtained products belong to the orthorhombic phase. The morphology transformation from Bi particles to Bi2S3 nanorods during the solvothermal process has been characterized by means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results show that the Bi2S3 nanorods about 60 nm in diameter and 1-2 mu m in length can be acquired by following the anisotropic growth. The effect of the solvent system on the quality of the nanorods was analyzed. It was found that using ethanol as solvent promotes the synthesis of pure and uniform product.