Effect of synthesis method and chemical reagents on the structural parameters, particle size, and optical and photoluminescence properties of ZnS nanostructures

In this experimental study, ZnS nanostructures were synthesized using two hydrothermal and co-precipitation methods with different precursors. Different reagents and precursors were changed to obtain the best product size and morphology. The structure and crystal phase of the products were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns. Some structural parameters were calculated using the XRD results and a product composition was obtained by energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra to study the chemical composition. The size and morphology of ZnS nanostructures were obtained by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The optical properties of the synthesized ZnS nanostructures were examined using ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectra to estimate the optical band gap. Band gap energies were higher than those in the ZnS bulk sample, mainly due to quantum size effects. The photoluminescence (PL) properties of the products were investigated using PL spectra. The results showed the effect of two factors, namely synthesis method and chemical reagents, on the structure parameters, crystallite size, product size and morphology, and optical and PL properties.