Low temperature hydrothermal synthesis of Bi2S3 nanorods using BiOI nanosheets as self-sacrificing templates

The synthesis of one-dimension (1D) Bi2S3 nanorods has been successfully achieved through the transformation of BiOI nanosheets at low hydrothermal temperature. Their crystallization, structure and morphology transformation processes were characterized in detail. Crystallite (Bi(Bi2S3)9I3)0.6667 nanorods were identified as intermediate products in the process, and they were chemically etched and split during the hydrothermal reaction into narrower Bi2S3 nanorods, which tend to bundle together with diameters range from 40 to 100 nm and lengths up to ∼800 nm. The possible transformation process of tetragonal BiOI nanosheets to orthorhombic Bi2S3 nanorods was investigated to better understand the potential application of this view for constructing novel nanostructures.

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► Synthesis of Bi2S3 nanorods has been achieved using BiOI as a sacrificing template.
► The synthetic experiment was carried out at low hydrothermal temperature.
► The transformation of BiOI nanosheets to Bi2S3 nanorods has been observed in detail.
► Possible formation mechanism of Bi2S3 nanorods was proposed.