The effect of ultraviolet irradiation on the photothermal, photoluminescence and photoluminescence excitation spectra of Mn-doped ZnS nanoparticles

Research involving Mn doped nanocrystalline ZnS (ZnS:Mn) has grown in recent years, partly due to the high quantum luminescence efficiencies that have been reported. We measured the photoacoustic (PA), the photoluminescence (PL) and the photoluminescence excitation (PLE) spectra of surface-passivated and unpassivated ZnS:Mn. The effects of UV irradiation on the PL and PLE spectra were also studied. A decrease in the PA intensity after UV exposure was observed for the ZnS:Mn, indicating a decrease in the nonradiative relaxation probability. The observed increase in PL intensity indicates a corresponding increase in the radiative transition probability. For the PLE spectra, possible aggregation of the primary particles could have resulted in the lower measured energy of the PLE peak compared to the value predicted by the effective mass approximation theory.