Premium
Shape‐Controlled Synthesis of High‐Quality Cu 7 S 4 Nanocrystals for Efficient Light‐Induced Water Evaporation
Author(s) -
Zhang Changbo,
Yan Cong,
Xue Zhenjie,
Yu Wei,
Xie Yinde,
Wang Tie
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.201601723
Subject(s) - evaporation , materials science , nanocrystal , boiling point , photothermal therapy , dispersity , chemical engineering , aqueous solution , nanotechnology , boiling , energy conversion efficiency , optoelectronics , chemistry , polymer chemistry , organic chemistry , physics , engineering , thermodynamics
Copper sulfides (Cu 2–x S), are a novel kind of photothermal material exhibiting significant photothermal conversion efficiency, making them very attractive in various energy conversion related devices. Preparing high quality uniform Cu 2‐x S nanocrystals (NCs) is a top priority for further energy‐and sustainability relevant nanodevices. Here, a shape‐controlled high quality Cu 7 S 4 NCs synthesis strategy is reported using sulfur in 1‐octadecene as precursor by varying the heating temperature, as well as its forming mechanism. The performance of the Cu 7 S 4 NCs is further explored for light‐driven water evaporation without the need of heating the bulk liquid to the boiling point, and the results suggest that as‐synthesized highly monodisperse NCs perform higher evaporation rate than polydisperse NCs under the identical morphology. Furthermore, disk‐like NCs exhibit higher water evaporation rate than spherical NCs. The water evaporation rate can be further enhanced by assembling the organic phase Cu 7 S 4 NCs into a dense film on the aqueous solution surface. The maximum photothermal conversion efficiency is as high as 77.1%.