Biomolecule-assisted synthesis of ZnIn2S4 flower-like hollow microspheres

The ternary metal chalcogenide ZnIn2S4 flower-like hollow microsphere was synthesized by a solvothermal reaction of Zn(CH3COO)2·2H2O, InCl3·4H2O and l-cysteine in ethylene glycol at 160 °C for 24 h. The crystal structure was characterized by X-ray diffractometry. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses show that the products consist of hollow microspheres made up of nanosheets and the thickness of the nanosheets is found to be less than 10 nm. A possible mechanism for the formation of the flower-like hollow microspheres is also proposed in this paper.

Research highlightsA simple and mild solvothermal method has been developed for the first time to synthesize uniform ZnIn2S4 hollow flower-like microspheres with the L-cysteine as sulfur source and ethylene glycol as the solvent. The microspheres are composed of a great deal of collapsed nanosheets. The flower-like hollow microspheres exhibit good photocatalytic activityFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide