Pure rock-salt structure manganese sulfide (alpha-MnS) powders were synthesized via solvothermal decomposition of an easily obtained single-source molecular precursor (manganese N,N'-diethyl dithiocarbamate: Mn-DDTC) in 80vol.% hydrazine hydrate aqueous solution at 90-120 degrees C for 24 h. The as-obtained products were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). chemical analysis, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and UV-vis absorption spectra. Furthermore, the control experiments with multiple-source precursors revealed that the single-source molecular precursor, Mn-DDTC played an important role in synthesizing phase-pure MnS under the present solvothermal conditions. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.