Controllable growth of Ag2S-CdS heteronanostructures

High quality Ag2S-CdS heteronanostructures were prepared via a facile one-pot method, which is based on the co-thermal decomposition of two single-source precursors of (C2H5)(2)NCS2Ag and ((C(2)H5)(2)NCS2)(2)Cd in a mixture of oleylamine and oleic acid. Ag2S-CdS heteronanostructures with spherical and matchstick-like structures can be easily obtained in high yields by careful control of the growth kinetics. It was found that oleic acid is conducive to the formation of spherical Ag2S-CdS heteronanostructures and oleylamine helps towards the formation of matchstick-like Ag2S-CdS heteronanostructures. Variable-temperature powder X-ray diffraction studies confirmed the heteroepitaxial growth of CdS on tiny Ag2S nanocrystals, in which the Ag2S nanocrystal plays a catalytic role in the epitaxial growth of the CdS segments.