Size-controllable hydrothermal synthesis of ZnS nanospheres and the application in photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes

Herein, using histidine as the additive, well-dispersed ZnS nanospheres with the controllable size and large specific surface area were prepared successfully in large scale via a facile one-pot hydrothermal synthesis method. The as-prepared ZnS nanospheres exhibited strong photo absorption in the UV and visible light region. From the results, the as-prepared ZnS nanospheres prepared at 160 degrees C for 6 h could photocatalytically degrade the rhodamine B efficiently through the mediation of photo-generated hydroxyl radicals under UV light irradiation. These suggest that the ZnS nanospheres prepared in this study might be used as the potential photocatalysts to treat the organic pollutants efficiently. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.