Facile synthesis of rod-shaped bismuth sulfide@graphene oxide (Bi₂S₃@GO) composite

The preparation of rod-like bismuth sulfide structures, effectively anchored to graphene oxide (GO) sheets, is informed using a fast and trouble-free method. This strategy, which incorporates elemental sulfur as S²⁻ source, hot dimethylsulfoxide as solvent, and a short reaction time, has been used to obtain Bi₂S₃@GO composites. The products were characterized by powder-XRD, Raman Spectroscopy, electron absorption spectroscopy in UV–vis–NIR region, SEM, HR-TEM, and XPS. All the characterization techniques showed pure, well-structured, rod-shaped Bi₂S₃ particles with sizes around 150 nm in diameter and hundreds of nanometers in length, which were anchored parallel to graphene oxide matrix. These elongated structures tended to grow along the [0 1 0] axis. Noteworthy, the presence of GO was undoubtedly detected on the surface of elongated bismuth sulfide by HR-TEM assays. In order to test the GO effect on the formation of the rod-like structures, a sample of pristine Bi₂S₃ was synthesized under the same conditions. XPS results indicate the presence of oxygen functional groups in GO as the main factor for the development of the lengthen bismuth sulfide structures, achieving this through the formation of Bi–O bonds.