Deposition of copper sulfide hollow nanospheres in aqueous solution at room temperature

Uniform copper sulfide hollow nanospheres were obtained in high yield by reacting copper nitrate with thioacetamide in water at room temperature under the assistance of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The spheres (average diameter of ca. 200 nm) displayed big cavity while their surface were constructed by randomly stacked nanoflakes. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). SDS was found to play a key role in the synthesis process while a four-step mechanism was proposed to explain the formation of hollow nanospheres. The influence of SDS concentration on the size and shape of the product has also been investigated in detail.