Synthesis and Characterization of SnS Nanoparticles by Hydrothermal Method

Pristine tin sulfide (SnS) nanoparticles were produced by using the conventional hydrothermal procedure. Tin chloride dihydrate (SnCl2·2H2O) and thioacetamide (C2H5NS) were utilized as the primary carriers of Sn2+ and S2− ions respectively. Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was added as a regulating compound to maintain particles’ regular morphology. The X-ray diffraction pattern has confirmed the orthorhombic unit cell structure with lattice components (a = 11.23 Å, b = 3.98 Å, and c = 4.25 Å) which are in great agreement with JCPDS card no. 00-067-0519. Using Scherrer’s equation, the typical crystallite size ranges between 16 and 40 nm. The surface morphology of synthesized SnS nanoparticles is sheet type and marble chips type as obtained from Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Tin (Sn) and sulfur (S) have an atomic proportion that is about 50%. The ultraviolet–visible near-infrared spectroscopy (UV–Vis) is performed between 200 and 800 nm and confirms the direct band gap value is 1.54 eV by the Kubelka–Munk function and tauc relation plot. Partial thermoelectric properties of synthesized nanoparticles were obtained using a ‘Hall effect setup’ at room temperature (306 K). It reveals that semiconducting nature, carrier concentration (n), hall coefficient (RH), electrical conductivity, and hall mobility are P-type semiconductors, n = 2.64 * 1017 cm−3, RH = 23.663 cm3/C, \(\sigma\) = 0.197 S/cm, \(\mu\) H = 4.66 cm2 V−1 s−1 respectively.