Studies on morphology changes of copper sulfide nanoparticles in a continuous Couette-Taylor reactor

• Published in: Chemical engineering journal (Lausanne, Switzerland : 1996) Vol. 359; pp. 1436 - 1441
• Main Authors: Tang, Zengmin, Kim, Woo-Sik, Yu, Taekyung
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.03.2019
• Subjects: Copper sulfide; CT reactor; Mean residence time; Morphology control; Reagent concentration; Rotational speed; Mean residence time; Reagent concentration; CT reactor; Morphology control; Rotational speed; Copper sulfide
• ISSN: 1385-8947; 1873-3212
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2018.11.034

•A facile synthetic route to copper sulfide in continuous Couette-Taylor reactor.•Morphology control of copper sulfide by level of supersaturation.•Level of supersaturation could be effectively regulated by rotational speed. In this report, a Couette-Taylor (CT) reactor was applied as an effective continuous process for synthesizing copper sulfide nanoparticles. The rotational speed, mean residence time (MRT), and concentration of the feed solution were important control factors on the morphology and size control of the nanoparticles. Increasing the rotational speed from 80 rpm to 90 rpm changed the morphology of the synthesized nanoparticles from nanofibers to hexagonal nanoplates. Only Cu7S4 nanofibers were obtained in the batch reactor. Through various comparative experiments, we found that MRT and the feed solution concentration affect monomer concentration in the CT reactor, thus controlling the morphology and size of the nanoparticles.