Synthesis and characteristics of layered SnS₂ nanostructures via hot injection method

Layered SnS₂ nanostructures are synthesized by a facile hot injection method, where the tin precursor (SnOA_x) is quickly injected into that of sulfur. The precipitation of tin and sulfur ions leads to the growth of layered SnS₂ nanostructures. Here, we change the concentration of the precursors and the reaction time to study the growth mechanism of SnS₂. The results show that stable SnS₂ nanosheets are obtained when the precursor ratio of tin to sulfur is 1:5 with one hour reaction time. The maximum particle size is about 460 nm, and the increase in the reaction time does not affect the particle size but results in the change in the thickness of the layered nanosheets. SnS₂ thin films are prepared by spin coating on optical glass substrates followed by annealing at 200 °C for 2 h. The film is uniform and shows preferred orientation along the (001) plane. UV–visible spectrum shows strong absorption for the SnS₂ film in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum and its band gap is estimated as 2.4 eV.