Hydrothermal synthesis of transition-metal sulfide dendrites or microspheres with functional imidazolium salt

A series of transition-metal sulfide (PbS, CdS, ZnS, CoS, Cu2S) compounds were successfully synthesized through a facile hydrothermal method using 1-butyl-3-methlyimidazole thiocyanate ([BMIM][SCN]) as both sulfur source and capping ligand. The resultant products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) measurements in order to determine the crystalline phase of the products. The structural and morphological features of the samples were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which showed that the morphologies of PbS and CdS were novel hierarchical dendrites, but rough exterior microspheres of ZnS, CoS and Cu2S. A possible reaction process was simply discussed in the end.