New fluorescent polymeric nanocomposites synthesized by antimony dodecyl-mercaptide thermolysis in polymer

In this work, the formation of semiconductive Sb2S3 nanoparticles inside amorphous polystyrene has been achieved by thermal degradation of the corresponding antimony dodecyl-mercaptide, Sb(SC12H25)3. The thermolysis of the dodecyl-mercaptide precursor was studied as both pure phase and mercaptide solution in polystyrene. The thermal decomposition of the antimony mercaptide precursor at 350°C, under vacuum, showed the formation of a mixture of antimony trisulfide (stibnite, Sb2S3) and zero-valent antimony (Sb) phase. X-ray Powder Diffraction (XRD) and Rietveld analysis carried out on the obtained nanostructured powder confirmed the presence of Sb and Sb2S3 phases in 10.4 wt% and 89.6 wt% amount, respectively. The same pyrolysis reaction was carried out in the polymer and the resulting nanocomposite material was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-VIS spectroscopy, and fluorescence spectroscopy. The nanocomposite structural characterization indicated the presence of well-dispersed nanoclusters of antimony and stibnite (15–30 nm in size) inside the amorphous polymeric phase. Optical measurements on the obtained nanocomposite films showed a strong emission at 432 nm upon excitation at 371 nm, probably related to the presence of Sb2S3 nanoclusters.