A facile high-yield solvothermal route to tin phosphide Sn4P3

An effective method of synthesis of tin phosphide Sn4P3 starting from metallic tin and amorphous red phosphorus by a low-temperature (200 oC) solvothermal reaction in ethylenediamine is offered. The key parameters of this process - duration, temperature, and the ratio of initial components (Sn/P) are studied. The structure, phase composition, and morphology of the products are investigated using powder X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Different synthetic ways for tin phosphide are discussed and compared with the proposed one. The mechanism of solvothermal preparation of tin phosphide in ethylenediamine is discussed. It is shown that the proposed solvothermal method opens up the possibility of preparing other metal-rich phosphides. - Graphical abstract: SEM microphotograph of the sample of layered tin phosphide Sn4P3, which can be simply solvothermally synthesized from metallic tin and red phosphorus