Inorganic Sn-X-complex-induced 1D, 2D, and 3D copper sulfide superstructures from anisotropic hexagonal nanoplate building blocks

A facile route was demonstrated for inorganic Sn-X-complex-induced syntheses of self-assembled 1D columnar, 2D raftlike, and 3D stratiform anisotropic Cu(2)S hexagonal nanoplates. The factors (reaction time, temperature, the concentration of Sn-X complex, and so on) that influence the size, phase, monodispersity, and self-assembly ability of the Cu(2)S hexagonal nanoplates were studied in detail. It was found that the Sn-X complex could inhibit the growth of the <001> direction of monoclinic Cu(2)S nanocrystals, which further induced the formation of the hexagonal lamellar structure. Furthermore, it revealed that the formation of the 1D arrangement was preferred as particles stacked in a face-to-face configuration by maximizing ligand-surface interactions. Then, high ligand density along the side of the 1D columnar arrangement induced well-defined 2D raftlike and 3D stratiform self-assembly.