We describe a novel process for the production of nanoparticles of Cu, Ag, Fe and Al which involves exploding their respective wires, triggered by large current densities in the wires. The particles are characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Particle sizes in the range 20–100nm were obtained employing this technique. The XRD results reveal that the nanoparticles continue to retain lattice periodicity at reduced particle sizes, displaying in some cases evidence of lattice strain and preferential orientation. In the case of Fe, Mossbauer spectroscopy reveals loss of ferromagnetism as a result of the reduced size of the particles.

Co-thermal decompositions of equimolar concentrations of thiourea complexes ([Cu(tu)₃]Cl and [Sb(tu)₂]Cl₃) in ethylene glycol and ethanolamine were attempted. Based on the results from powder X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and energy dispersive spectral analysis of the products, Cu₃SbS₃ in cubic symmetry emerged from ethylene glycol. In contrast, orthorhombic CuSbS₂ resulted from the ethanolamine medium. The generation of copper-rich and copper-poor sulfides was found to be the major reason behind theformation of these stoichiometries of the Cu-Sb-S system as verified by reacting the preformed Cu-S and Sb-S species in ethanolamine and ethylene glycol. Attempts to include bismuth (up to 50 mol%) for antimony were successful only in ethylene glycol medium. The inclusion of bismuth stabilized the orthorhombic form of Cu₃SbS₃, possibly due to the non-bonded lone pairs present on Bi³⁺ and Sb³⁺ -ions. The inclusion of bismuth confirmed from the successful refinement of powder X-ray diffraction pattern by the Rietveld method, Ramanspectroscopy, and energy dispersive spectroscopy analysis. CuSbS₂2, Cu₃SbS₃ (cubic) and Cu₃Sb_0.50Bi_0.50S₃ showed broad absorption extending up to visible region in their UV-visible spectra. The bandgap values of 1.31, 1.40 and 0.94 eV were estimated by Tauc plots for Cu₃SbS₃, CuSbS₂, and Cu₃Sb_0.50Bi_0.50S₃,respectively.