Sonochemical synthesis of tungsten sulfide nanorodsElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: TGA curve for the as-prepared product; AFM image of WS2 packs of nanorods. See http://www.rsc.org/suppdata/jm/b1/b110867k/

Abstract

Amorphous WS₂ has been prepared by ultrasound irradiation of W(CO)₆ solution in diphenylmethane (DPhM) in the presence of a slight excess of sulfur at 90 °C under argon. Heating the amorphous powder at 800 °C under argon yields WS₂ nanorods and their packings. The average size of WS₂ nanorods was found to be 3–10 nm and 1–5 µm in thickness and length, respectively. The prepared WS₂ has been characterized by elemental analysis, X-ray powder diffraction measurements, FTIR spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis.