Influence of potassium chloride on the structure of Cu9S5 nanosheets with hexagonal holes

Single crystalline rhombohedral phase Cu9S5 nanosheets with hexagonal holes were successfully synthesized without any surfactant by hydrothermally treating a solution of copper sulfate, potassium chloride and thiourea at 140 °C for 18 h under ambient conditions. Hexagonal holes in the nanosheets were obviously observed with wide size contribution. The morphology and structure of Cu9S5 nanosheets hexagonal holes were characterized by means of XRD, TEM, HRTEM, and SAED. The influence of the amounts of potassium chloride on the structure of the nanosheets has been discussed. The UV-vis-NIR absorption spectroscopy showed a significant red-shift of the absorption edge and an increased absorbance in the near-IR region. The nanosheets also displayed good adsorption and photodecomposition of rhodamine B.