Surfactant-Assisted Hydrothermal Synthesis of Single phase Pyrite FeS2 Nanocrystals

A study was conducted to demonstrate the use of single-source molecular precursors for the growth of single phase FeS2 pyrite nanocrystals through a hydrothermal reaction. The synthesis process started with the formation of the single-source molecular precursor iron(II) diethyl dithiophosphate ([C2H5O)2P(S)]3Fe) in aqueous solution through the reaction between iron(III) chloride (FeCl 3) and diethyl dithiophosphate ammonium salt ((C2H 5O)2P-(S)SNH4). It was demonstrated that the single source precursor with the addition of hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) acting as a surfactant underwent thermal decomposition by a hydrothermal reaction in a 125 mL Teflon lined stainless steel acid digestion bomb at 200 °C. An alternative approach was also demonstrated where the molecular precursor was expected to be formed in situ.