Deposition of thallium sulfide layers on polyethylene and nanostructured silica by a sulfurisation-reaction process

Thallium sulfide layers on the surface of polyethylene are formed if they have been sulfured in a solution of higher polythionic acid, H₂S₃₃O₆, and then treated with the alkaline solution of thallium(I) sulfate. Three phases TlS, Tl₂S, Tl₂S₂ were identified by X-ray diffraction analysis in thallium sulfide layers. Surface morphology of the films was characterized with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM). The films deposited on the PE substrate have a no-homogeneous structure and consist of separated islands, the average roughness up to 10 µm. The deposition on the silica-polystyrene beads matrix has a homogeneous structure and the average roughness is in the range of 100–150 nm. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)