Single-crystalline Bi2S3 nanobelts: hydrothermal synthesis and growth mechanism

High-quality single-crystalline Bi2S3 nanobelts were synthesized with Bi(NO3)3 x 5H2O and thioacetamide (TAA) as the raw materials in the polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) aqueous solution via a facile hydrothermal route. The morphology and crystallinity of the nanobelts were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and selected area electron diffraction (SAED). The effects of a series of reaction parameters on the morphology of Bi2S3 were studied. A plausible growth mechanism based on preferred orientation growth is proposed to address the formation of Bi2S3 nanobelts.