Facile synthesis of single-crystal nanoporous α-NiS nanosheets from Ni(OH)2 counterpart

We reported a facile synthesis of free-standing single-crystal nanoporous α-NiS nanosheets. The synthesis involves the hydrothermal preparation of single-crystal Ni(OH)2 nanosheets and subsequent conversion into nanoporous α-NiS by heat treatment in H2S gas at moderate temperature. The synthesized materials were characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, selective area electron diffraction, nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherm, and X-ray diffraction. Results revealed that the synthesized nanoporous NiS nanosheets were single crystal with size of ~250 nm in diameter and 25 nm in thickness. The nanoporous NiS nanosheets also have a large specific surface area of 60 m2/g and a pore size of 3.4 nm, promising various applications such as photocatalyst, adsorption, solar cells, high performance supercapacitors, and rechargeable batteries.