An elegant room temperature procedure for the precise control of composition in the Cu-S system.

A general methodology for the precise control of the final product composition in the copper sulfide system has been established for the first time. Cu(2)S, prepared by the dissociation of [Cu(tu)(3)]Cl in ethylenediamine, was subjected to controlled chemical oxidation by iodine to obtain Cu(2-x) (x = 0.2, 0.25, 0.88, 1.0) at room temperature. The compositions were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, ICP spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and magnetization measurements.