Uniform ultralarge single crystal SnS rectangular nanosheets (7000 nm × 3000 nm × 20 nm) have been synthesized by thermodecomposing a single-source precursor (Sn-diethyldithiocarbamate-1,10-phenanthroline). The obtained SnS nanosheets exhibit excellent electrochemical properties which have promising applications in lithium ion batteries.

A green approach to the synthesis of Mn₃O₄ nanoparticles using banana peel extract as both reducing and capping agent has been described. The as-obtained Mn₃O₄ electrode exhibits acceptable electrochemical performance (216 F g⁻¹ at 0.3 A g⁻¹, 93% capacity retention after 2000 cycles).

High quality AgInS₂ nanocrystals (NCs) are synthesized using a simple single-source precursor method, in which the size and morphology of the products can be precisely controlled from heliotrope seed-like NCs of 6 × 12 nm to heliotrope seed-like dimer NCs of 8 × 16 nm by tuning the composition of the coordinating solvents of oleic acid and 1-dodecanethiol. The results show that 1-dodecanethiol plays a dominant role in determining the morphology of AgInS₂ NCs due to its strong absorption onto the {001} crystal plane of AgInS₂ NCs. The photoelectric properties of the as-prepared AgInS₂ NCs have been characterized using AgInS₂-poly(3-hexylthiophene) hybrid nanodevices. The results illustrate that the AgInS₂ NCs present very high photosensitivity and photostability to outside illumination. The high sensitivity and stability of the hybrid nanodevice indicate a broad spectrum of applications in the photoelectric nanodevices.

Iron sulfide nanostructures with diverse shapes (nanoparticles, nanoribbons and nanoplates) have been synthesized via a single-source precursor of Fe(Ddtc)₃ or Fe(Ddtc)₂(Phen) (Phen = 1,10-phenanthroline; Ddtc = diethyldithiocarbamate) in the mixture solvents of oleic acid (OA)/oleylamine (OM)/1-octadecene (ODE). The chemical compositions of the as-formed iron sulfide nanostructures are found to be determined by the valencies of iron in the precursors. For phase-pure Fe₃S₄ and Fe₇S₈ nanostructures, their shape-selective syntheses could be realized mainly by modifying the ratio of reaction solvent compositions and the chemical composition of precursors. The growth of nanoparticles and nanoplates of iron sulfide is likely due to the selective adsorption of the capping ligands on specific crystal planes of the nanocrystals. Meanwhile, for FeS_x nanoribbons, the growth of nanoribbons may come from the template-direction of micellar structures formed by self-assembly of capping ligands. Furthermore, the Fe₃S₄ and Fe₇S₈ nanostructures display strong ferromagnetic properties at room temperature.