Fabrication of crystalline $$\hbox {Sb}₂\hbox {S}₃$$ sheaf structure composed of nanorods by a hot-injection method

Herein, we demonstrate a hot-injection method towards the fabrication of (hbox {Sb}₂hbox {S}₃). The evolution from amorphous (hbox {Sb}₂hbox {S}₃) nanoparticles to a sheaf of (hbox {Sb}₂hbox {S}₃) nanorods cross-linked together occurring with the increase of reaction temperature and time is studied. The structural, compositional and morphological features of (hbox {Sb}₂hbox {S}₃) products indicate the formation of crystalline (hbox {Sb}₂hbox {S}₃) with orthorhombic phase and high purity. As the reaction proceeds, it can be observed that the individual nanorod grows along the elongated direction (c-axis), and it is noteworthy that its round cross-section could develop into the rectangular cross-section subsequently. In this study we also propose a possible formation mechanism for the growth process of (hbox {Sb}₂hbox {S}₃), and it reveals that the present hot-injection could provide an ideal growth environment for synthesizing the nanostructured materials by optimizing the experimental parameters.