Structural Investigations of α-MnS Nanocrystals and Thin Films Synthesized from Manganese(II) Xanthates by Hot Injection, Solvent-Less Thermolysis, and Doctor Blade Routes.

Manganese(II) xanthate complexes of the form [Mn(SCOR)(TMEDA)], where TMEDA = tetramethylethylenediamine and R = methyl (), ethyl (), -propyl (), -butyl (), -pentyl (), -hexyl (), and -octyl (), have been synthesized and structures elucidated using single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Complexes - were used as molecular precursors to synthesize manganese sulfide (MnS). Olelyamine-capped nanocrystals have been produced hot injection, while the doctor blading followed by thermolysis yielded thick films. Free-standing polycrystalline powders of MnS are produced by direct thermolysis of precursor powders. All thermolysis techniques produced cubic MnS, as confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. Magnetic measurements reveal that the α-MnS nanocrystals exhibit ferromagnetic behavior with a large coercive field strength ( 0.723 kOe for 6.8 nm nanocrystals).