Ionic liquid-induced synthesis of selenium nanoparticles

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.materresbull.2010.03.005Get rights and content

Abstract

A simple wet chemical method has been used to synthesize selenium nanoparticles by the reaction of ionic liquid with sodium selenosulphate, a selenium precursor, in the presence of polyvinyl alcohol stabilizer, in aqueous medium. The method is capable of producing spherical selenium nanoparticles in the size range of 76–150 nm under ambient conditions. This is a first report on the production of nano-selenium assisted by an ionic liquid. The synthesized nanoparticles can be separated easily from the aqueous sol by a high-speed centrifuge machine, and can be re-dispersed in an aqueous medium. The synthesized selenium nanoparticles have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, differential scanning calorimetry and transmission electron microscopy techniques.

Introduction

Synthesis of nano-structured materials have generated a great deal of interest because of their unique optoelectronic, magnetic and mechanical properties, which differ largely from that of bulk materials, as well as their applications in the fields of catalysis, sensors and other nano-devices [1]. An extensive reported literature exists on the synthesis and applications of nanoparticles of both noble metals, such as silver, gold, platinum, etc., and semiconductors, like CdSe, ZnSe, etc. However, research on nano-metalloids, like selenium, is scanty. The high reactivity of selenium towards a large number of chemicals has stimulated researchers recently, to convert selenium into various important nano-materials, such as ZnSe, CdSe, etc. [2]. Pure selenium, as well as selenium containing nano-materials, have excellent photoelectrical characteristics, semiconductor properties and high biological activity [3].

Nano-selenium has been widely used in electrical rectifiers, photocells, photographic exposure meters, xerography, etc., because of its high photoconductivity, and large piezoelectric, thermoelectric and non-linear responses [4]. Selenium is an essential micronutrient required for most of the living organisms, including human beings [5]. Most of the nano-selenium syntheses have been carried out by reduction of selenium dioxide, selenate, or selenites, with reducing agents, like hydrazine, sodium ascorbate, or glycol. Oxidation methods are also reported by some of the researchers for the formation of nano-selenium [6], [7], [8], [9]. These chemical methods required quite harsh experimental conditions [10].

In recent years, advantages of ionic liquids in the syntheses of inorganic nano-materials have been gradually realized, and these materials have received more and more attention due to their unique physical and chemical properties. A good number of research articles as well as reviews on the use of ionic liquids exist in the literature [11], [12], [13], [14], [15]. Many nano-structured materials have been successfully synthesized by employing ionic liquids as precursors [16], [17], [18]. For quite a long period of time, ionic liquids have been used as green solvents in organic syntheses, and have also found applications in the field of catalysis [19].

Due to the great advantages of ionic liquids, we have also used these for the synthesis of selenium nanoparticles. In this study, we report a simple wet chemical method which is capable of producing selenium nanoparticles by the reaction of sodium selenosulphate with 3-methylimidazolinium methane sulfonate as an ionic liquid, under ambient conditions. To the best of our knowledge, the use of ionic liquid for the formation of selenium nanoparticles is being reported for the first time.

Section snippets

Experimental details

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) of molecular weight 40,000, obtained from s. d. Fine Chemicals, and selenium powder from Aldrich, were used as received. Synthetic grade methane sulphonic acid and 1-methyl immidazole were procured from CDH and Spectrochem, respectively. All the other chemicals were of GR grade, and obtained from local market. Aqueous solutions were prepared, using deionized water. Sodium selenosulphate, Na2SeSO3, was prepared by the method reported earlier [20].Na2SO3(aq) + Se(s)  Na2SeSO

Results and discussion

In the recent past, ionic liquids have been used, either as solvents, or precursors, for the synthesis of nanostructure materials [21], [22]. The synthesized ionic liquid is acidic in nature, and it is known that sodium selenosulphate gets decomposed in acidic medium [8], [9], forming selenium. Thus, taking advantage of the acidic character of the ionic liquid, ([Hmim]+ CH3SO3), its reaction with sodium selenosulphate was carried out, in the presence of PVA stabilizer, to produce selenium

Conclusion

Ionic liquid-induced oxidation of sodium selenosulphate i.e., SeSO32−, was found to be a simple method for the production of selenium nanoparticles under ambient conditions. Formation of the nano-crystalline selenium, and an increase in crystallinity on heating were concluded from both, DSC and XRD results. The selenium nanoparticles, with size of 76–150 nm, could be obtained. The selenium nanoparticles may serve as a template, to generate other important nano-materials for their potential

Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to Dr. S.T. Gadade, Principal, C.K. Thakur College, New Panvel, for providing laboratory facility, and Dr. L. Varshney, for DSC experiment. The authors also wish to thank Dr. T. Mukherjee and Dr. S.K. Sarkar, B.A.R.C., for their constant encouragement during the course of the study.

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