Synthesis and characterization of sulfur nanoparticles

Sulfur nanoparticles are used for modification of carbon nano tubes [1], synthesis of sulfur nano composites for lithium batteries [2], synthesis of sulfur nanowires with carbon to form hybrid materials with useful properties for gas sensor and catalytic applications [3]. In this paper sulfur nano particles were successfully prepared via novel water in oil (w/o) microemulsion system. The microemulsion system contains cyclohexane as oil phase, Triton X-100 as surfactant, butanol as co-surfactant and sodium polysulfide solution or hydrochloric acid solution as aqueous phase, respectively. The resulting sulfur nano particles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The results showed that monoclinic sulfur nano particles prepared via this method have spherical shape with an average size of about 22nm.