Characterization by X-Ray Peak Broadening Analysis of Wet Chemical Synthesized CuAlS2 Nanoparticles

The copper aluminium disulfide (CuAlS2) nanoparticles were synthesized by wet chemical method. The elemental composition of the as-synthesized CuAlS2 nanoparticles was confirmed by energy dispersive analysis of X-rays (EDAX). The lattice constants, density, number of unit cell per nanoparticles, %d error and inter planer angle of as-synthesized CuAlS2 nanoparticles were determined from X-ray diffraction (XRD). The Hall-Williamson (H-W) analysis and size-strain plot method were used to determine the crystallite size and lattice strain from the XRD peak broadening of the nanoparticles. Other physical parameters such as strain, stress and energy density values were calculated employing the intense reflected peaks of XRD. The calculations were done using the uniform deformation model (UDM), uniform stress deformation model (USDM), uniform deformation energy density model (UDEDM) and by the size-strain plot method (SSP). The shape and size of the as-synthesized nanoparticles were also determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The selected area electron diffraction (SAED) pattern of the CuAlS2 nanoparticles confirmed the polycrystalline nature. The results obtained showed that the mean particle size of the CuAlS2 nanoparticles estimated from the TEM image, H-W analysis and the SSP methods were in good agreement with each other.