Bundle of Nanobelts Up to 4 cm in Length: One-Step Synthesis and Preparation of Titanium Trisulfide (TiS3) Nanomaterials

One-dimensional (1D) titanium trisulfide (TiS3) nanobelt bundles up to 4 cm in length have been successfully synthesized through an easy and common chemical vapor transition (CVT) process. The as-synthesized samples were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), polarized light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). All microscopic observations indicated a belt-like morphology. Powder XRD patterns showed that TiS3 crystallized in the monoclinic system with a = 4.958(1) Å, b = 3.393(1) Å, c = 8.793(3) Å and β = 97.27(5)°. TEM images revealed a nanostructure with an interplanar spacing of 0.87 nm. The ED pattern and HRTEM images confirmed the [014] elongated direction and the [001] dilated direction of the bundle of TiS3 nanobelts. Its tensile strength (TS) was further examined with a universal testing machine with 20 N as the biggest strength: the maximum stress and the break strain were 111.027 MPa and 97.1 %, respectively. Because the TiS3 nanocrystals are up to 4 cm in length and flexible enough to be cut into small pieces, they should be used directly in electrical and electronic applications. Also, these nanomaterials are synthesized and prepared by a simple one-step process. (© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2006)