Surfactant-assisted hydrothermal synthesis and characterization of WS2 nanorods

WS2 nanorods with diameters of about 20-100 nm and lengths of about 0.1-2 mu m were successfully synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method with the help of the surfactant Cetyltrimethylammonium Bromide (CTAB). As-prepared WS2 samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Moreover, the influence of surfactant CTAB on the formation of WS2 nanorods was investigated. A possible three-step growth mechanism of WS2 nanorods, in which initial nucleation, self-assembly (oriented aggregation), and subsequent crystal growth (Ostwald ripening) is involved, is proposed to explain the formation of WS2 nanorods on the basis of observations of a time-dependent morphology evolution process. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.