Innovative method of mixing copper with sulphur
Mixing copper with sulphur produces nanocrystalline copper sulphides. For this to be possible, the copper particles must be fine enough and have a specific shape. Likewise, a certain amount of energy must be supplied, and good contact between the reacting powders must be ensured. In the ideal case, we can thus prepare several copper sulphides by a specific reaction, such as covellite CuS and digenite Cu1.8S, which have a wide range of applications in energy conversion, optoelectronics and biomedicine.
"We discovered that we can carry out the mentioned reaction without using grinding balls. Only copper and sulphur powders are poured into the grinding chamber, and intensive mixing, which ensures good contact between the reagents, will result in an effective reaction. For this to work, several conditions must be met," said Matej Baláž from the Institute of Geotechnics SAS.
The mixing must be intense and the filling of the grinding chamber must be sufficient, otherwise, there will be no reaction, and a gradual reaction takes place. This results in mostly unreacted copper remaining on the walls of the container and sulphur powder condensing in its centre.
"The presented innovative method of preparing nanocrystalline copper sulphides is very simple and fast. Since it does not come into contact with ground balls, it is also clean. Last but not least, it saves not only time, but also finances, because from a procedural point of view, multiple preparation steps are unnecessary," adds Matej Baláž.
A national (Slovak) patent application PP 50046-2024 has been filed for the innovative method of preparing nanocrystalline copper sulphides. The Slovak Academy of Sciences is looking for industrial partners for licensing or selling the given solution.
Edited by Monika Tináková
Illustration: canva.com