Synthesis and optical properties of CuS nanowires fabricated by electrodeposition with anodic alumina membrane

Crystalline CuS nanowire arrays have been successfully fabricated by an AC with DC electrodeposition from aqueous solutions of dimethylsulfoxide solution containing copper chloride and elemental sulfur into oxalic anodic alumina membranes (AAM). The results of X-ray diffraction show that the as-synthesized nanowires are crystalline with highly preferential [100] orientation and show the hexagonal structure. Scanning electron microscopy indicates that the ordered CuS nanowire arrays are completely embedded into AAM. These nanowires have uniform diameters of approximately 60 nm, and their lengths are up to tens of micrometers. The absorbance in UV–Vis spectrum might be attributed from the varied copper sulfide phase. The high energy absorbance might be due to the characteristic of Cu2S composition of the few amounts in our sample. The broad and strong absorbance in the near-IR region might be due to the characteristic of CuS.