Microwave heating synthesis and formation mechanism of chalcopyrite structured CuInS2 nanorods in deep eutectic solvent

Abstract Chalcopyrite structured CuInS 2 nanorods were synthesized by an environmentally friendly microwave heating method in deep eutectic solvent. The as-synthesized CuInS 2 nanorods were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), respectively. The results indicated that the obtained CuInS 2 nanostructures display rod-like morphology with diameters of about 40 nm and lengths of about 400 nm. The influences of microwave heating time on the formation of CuInS 2 phase were discussed. Ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) and photoluminescence (PL) spectra were utilized to investigate the optical properties of CuInS 2 nanorods. The results showed that the as-synthesized CuInS 2 nanorods exhibit strong absorption from the entire visible light region to the near-infrared region beyond 1100 nm. PL spectrum of the as-synthesized CuInS 2 nanorods displays an emission peak centered at 580 nm under excitation wavelength of 366 nm at room temperature. The possible growth mechanism of CuInS 2 nanorods was discussed.