Nanosized silver sulfide particles: Characterization, self-organization into 2D and 3D superlattices

Reverse micelles have been used to make nanosized silver sulfide particles. The size distribution is evaluated from TEM micrographs and from fluorescence spectroscopy experiments, The luminescence spectrum, measured at 2 K, shows that the distribution is narrow but contains also particles with diameters too small for detection with TEM. By coating the particles with dodecanethiol, 2D and 3D self-assemblies composed of silver sulfide nanoparticles are observed. Monolayers organized in a hexagonal network in a very large domain are observed. Furthermore, 3D layers are highly ordered and form a face-centered cubic structure.