Issue 33, 2021

Mapping surface morphology and phase evolution of iron sulfide nanoparticles

Abstract

Iron sulfide nanoparticles play an essential role in the global biogeochemistry sulfur cycle and the origin of life. Controlling phase and morphology is essential but a great challenge for nanomaterials. Herein, we have investigated surface energy, morphology, thermodynamic stability, and phase evolution of FexSy nanoparticles through density functional theory calculations and Wulff construction. The sulfur-rich surfaces become more stable under higher sulfur chemical potential with low temperature and high partial H2S pressure, while the trends of sulfur-poor surfaces are reversed. Thermodynamic equilibrium phase diagrams imply that the intrinsic iron is sulfurated to mackinawite (FeS) and further to the polymorphs of FeS2 when the particle size is larger than 5 nm. When the size is decreased to 2 nm, the mackinawite (FeS) could be sulfurated to pyrrhotite (Fe7S8) and greigite (Fe3S4) and finally to the pyrite (FeS2) phase.

Graphical abstract: Mapping surface morphology and phase evolution of iron sulfide nanoparticles

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
17 Jūn. 2021
Accepted
20 Jūl. 2021
First published
21 Jūl. 2021

CrystEngComm, 2021,23, 5645-5654

Mapping surface morphology and phase evolution of iron sulfide nanoparticles

T. Yang, Y. He, X. Liu, X. Liu, Q. Peng, N. Li and J. Liu, CrystEngComm, 2021, 23, 5645 DOI: 10.1039/D1CE00800E

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements