Solvothermal synthesis of nanocrystalline FeS2

This paper reports on the synthesis of the nanocrystalline FeS2 via a solvent-thermal process. Using FeSO4 and NH2CSNH2 as precursors and polyvinyl-pyrrolidone (PVP) as a protective agent (dispersant), we have successfully synthesized nanocrystalline FeS2 both under acidic conditions (pH = 5) and under alkali conditions (pH = 10) at various temperatures and for different time in alcohol-water solution. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Ultraviolet Visible (UV-VIS) spectroscopy were used to characterize the morphology, structure, particle size and optical characterization of sample synthesized under acidic condition, and the XRD pattern was refined by Rietveld method. The experimental result shows that nanocrystalline FeS2 with uniform size, highly crystallized quality and excellent dispersivity has been synthesized at 200 for 36 h.