Formation of cubic zinc sulfide nanocrystals in paraffin liquid

A green and cheap route to the production of cubic zinc sulfide nanocrystals is presented. Nanocrystals were synthesized in sole solvent paraffin liquid with zinc oxide, elemental sulfur and oleic acid. Their photophysical properties were investigated by UV-vis absorption and photoluminescence spectra. The temporal evolution of UV-vis spectra showed that the reactions could be terminated after about 5 min growth with a main absorption peak at 267 run. The typical photoluminescence peaks (excited by 260 nm) were observed at about 285 nm and 397 nm. Transmission electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction in combination with X-ray powder diffraction indicated the presence of cubic ZnS nanocrystals in good crystallization with the average size of 5.0 nm in diameter. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.