Structural and spectroscopic characterization of HgS nanoparticles prepared via simple microwave approach in presence of novel sulfuring agent

Mercury sulfide (HgS) crystals with different morphologies and particle sizes, were obtained via a simple microwave reaction by a new precursor complex, [bis ((2-suphanylphenyl)imino]methylphenol) Hg(II)] ([Hg(C13H11NSO)2]2+). The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy. Mercury sulfide nanostructures with different sizes were prepared. The effects of precursor concentration, type of solvent, microwave time, and power on the particle size and morphology were investigated. The results show that the type of solvent and microwave power play key roles in the final size of HgS. Ethylene glycol is the best solvent for the synthesis of very fine particles of HgS, and the best power for the preparation of HgS nanoparticles with uniform size distribution is 900 W. The band gap for HgS nanoparticles calculated by UV-Vis spectrum was 3.2 eV which had about 1.2 eV blue shift in comparison with the band gap of 2 eV for bulk sample.