Tartatric acid and L-cysteine synergistic-assisted synthesis of antimony trisulfide hierarchical structures in aqueous solution

Alveolate amorphous Sb₂S₃ microspheres about 2 μm in diameter were hydrothermally synthesized in aqueous solution without the use of a surfactant at 180 °C by using SbCl₃, Lcysteine, and tartaric acid as starting materials. After annealing at 250 °C for 3 h under a nitrogen atmosphere, polycrystalline Sb₂S₃ hollow spheres were obtained. The morphology, structure, and phase composition of alveolate Sb₂S₃ microspheres were characterized, by X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It was demonstrated that tartaric acid and L-cysteine play a key role in the formation of such hierarchical structures. In addition, the possible aggregation mechanism, was proposed, to illustrate the formation of Sb₂S₃ microspheres on the basis of the experimental results and analyses.