Hydrothermal synthesis and characterization of ZnS hierarchical microspheres

In the present work, wurtzite ZnS hierarchical microsphere nanostructures composed of nanowires were synthesized through hydrothermal method. The morphologies and microstructures of the as obtained wurtzite ZnS sample were investigated by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The results show that the diameter of the nanowires is about 10 nm, the length is about 500 nm, growing along the [0 0 1] direction. UV–visible spectroscopy shows that the band gap of the as obtained ZnS hierarchical microspheres is 3.4 eV. Room temperature photoluminescence measurements reveals a strong green emission peak at around 516 nm. The N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms experiment at 77 K exhibits that the surface area of the ZnS sample is 99.87 m2 g−1.

► Wurtzite ZnS hierarchical microsphere nanostructures were synthesized through hydrothermal route. ► The BET specific surface area of the as obtained sample was calculated to be 99.87 m2 g−1. ► Room temperature PL spectrum reveals a strong green emission peak around 516 nm.