The thioglycerol catalyzed reaction of metal salts and elemental sulfur: A new approach for the preparation of nanocrystalline metal sulfides

CdS, PbS and CuS nanoparticles have been synthesized by a simple polyol route, involving the reaction of metal salts with elemental sulfur in ethylene glycol at moderate temperature (70–80 °C). Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) are used to characterize these nanoparticles. In this reaction, thioglycerol (TG) not only acts as the capping agent of the produced metal sulfides nanoparticles but also remarkably improves the reactivity of elemental sulfur in the synthesis of these metal sulfide nanoparticles.