The synthesis of superhydrophobic Bi(2)S(3) complex nanostructures.

In this paper, we report a biomolecule-assisted soft chemistry route for constructing complex Bi(2)S(3) nanostructures that exhibit controlled wetting behavior. The as-synthesized sample was characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), field emission SEM (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution TEM (HRTEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), Raman, x-ray photoelectron (XPS) and photoluminescence (PL). The Raman spectra indicate that the surface optical (SO) phonon mode occurs in Bi(2)S(3) nanoparticles. The SO phonon mode is attributed to the defects on the surface of Bi(2)S(3) nanoparticles. In addition, the possible formation mechanism of the self-assembled urchin-like Bi(2)S(3) complex nanostructures is discussed. The established complex nanostructure can control the surface topology of a membrane to create a superhydrophobic surface. A water contact angle (CA) of > 150 degrees of the as-synthesized Bi(2)S(3) complex nanostructures can be obtained, which may find potential application in environmental chemistry.