Effect of ethylene glycol as solvent on the composition and morphology of nickel phosphide

Solvent, as one of the important factors, influences the composition and morphology of material during its preparing process. Ethylene glycol, as a good solvent, has good properties such as low toxicity, low cost, relatively high boiling point, good solubility and certain reducibility. Here, the work investigates the effect of ethylene glycol as the solvent on composition and morphology of nickel phosphide and find that the addition of ethylene glycol into aqueous solution will lead the composition of nickel phosphide from the pure Ni2 P phase to a mixture of Ni2 P and Ni12P5, and the morphology from the close packed structure of nanoparticles to the loose structure.