Fractal characteristics of nanocrystalline indium and gallium sulfide particles

The structure of nano-sized powders of indium sulfide (In2S3) and gallium sulfide (Ga2S3), prepared by single source precursor route has been investigated by small angle X-ray scattering technique. The particle morphology shows interesting fractal nature. For In2S3, the nanoparticle aggregates show a mass fractal with fractal dimension 2.0 that increases with longer time of thermal treatment. Below the length scale of about 20 nm, the particles have a rough surface with a surface fractal dimension of 2.8. Unlike In2S3, structure of Ga2S3 exhibits a single surface fractal over whole q-range of study. The estimated particle sizes are in range of 5-15 nm and the results are supported by transmission electron microscope.