Surfactant assisted surface studies of zinc sulfide nanoparticles

We report a simple soft chemical method for the synthesis of ZnS nanoparticles using varying concentration of cationic surfactant CTAB and examine its surface properties. Powder X-ray diffraction, UV-vis spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, selective area electron diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy are used to characterize the as prepared ZnS nanoparticles. XRD and TEM measurements show the size of polydispersed ZnS nanoparticles is in the range of 2-5 nm with cubic phase structure. The photoluminescence spectrum of ZnS nanoparticles exhibits four fluorescence emission peaks centered at 387 nm, 412 nm, 489 nm and 528 nm showing the application potential for the optical devices. In Raman spectra of ZnS nanoparticles, the modes around 320, 615 and 700 cm−1 are observed.

• Polydisperse ZnS nanoparticles are successfully synthesized by chemical route using CTAB as a surfactant. • CTAB does not influence the crystal structure of ZnS nanoparticles but the lattice contraction occurs between the Zn-S. • PL emissions are observed around 387, 410, 489, and 528 nm. All these transitions correspond to surface vacancies and defect states. • Raman peaks at 320, 615, and 700 cm−1 are found. These are observed due to surface phonon mode.