Microemulsion-mediated solvothermal synthesis of ZnS nanowires

Uniform and high-aspect-ratio ZnS nanowires with length up to several micrometers and diameter of 30–50 nm are synthesized by a facile and low-cost microemulsion-mediated solvothermal method. Moreover, ZnS nanorods and bamboo-leaf-like ZnS nanostructures were also obtained by modulating the reaction parameters. Especially, hollow bamboo-leaf-like ZnS nanostructures formed by radiating those bamboo leaves with electron beam. A reasonable mechanism to the formation of the as-prepared one-dimension zinc blend ZnS nanocrystals is also discussed.