Revitalizing digenite Cu1.8S nanoparticles with the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect by manganese incorporation

Digenite Cu1.8S and covellite CuS nanoparticles can both be obtained through the hot-injection synthetic process by controlling the synthesis temperature and time. Compared with digenite Cu1.8S, covellite CuS attracts more attention due to the extraordinary LSPR effect. However, digenite Cu1.8S is thermally more stable and suitable for applications at elevated temperature. In this work, LSPR was found to be induced by incorporation of manganese (Mn) into originally weakly absorbing digenite Cu1.8S nanoparticles. In addition, it was observed that the intensity of the LSPR effect could be controlled by tuning the manganese content in the new Mn-incorporated digenite Cu1.8S (CuxMnyS) nanoparticles.