A Novel Solvothermal Route to Nanocrystalline Sn₄P₃ with Red Phosphorous as Raw Material

Nanocrystalline tin phosphide Sn4P3 was synthesized from red phosphorus and tin chloride SnCl22H2O by a low temperature (200°C) solvothermal reaction in ethanolamine for only 10 hours. The important parameters of solvothermal processmolar ratio of initial components (P/Sn), temperature and duration were investigated. The phase, composition and morphology of the products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The ideal solvothermal conditions to synthesize pure and nanocrystallined Sn4P3 were summarized in this work.