Synthesis of ZnS nanospheres in microemulsion containing cationic gemini surfactant

The reverse microemulsion containing cationic gemini surfactant trimethylene-1,3-bis(dodecyldimethyl ammonium bromide) (12-3-12, 2Br(-)) is applied to synthesize ZnS nanospheres. Narrow size distributed ZnS nanospheres with controllable size and uniform morphology are successfully fabricated by direct reaction of ZnCl 2 and Na 2 S in the reverse microemulsion systems. Except for the appearance of large aggregates owing to quantum size effects when the incubation time is 2 h, with increasing the incubation time from 12 to 48 h, the diameter of the ZnS nanosphere can be controlled as 20-25 nm and 140 nm, respectively. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and UV-visible absorption spectroscopy are applied to characterize the resulting ZnS nanoparticles. In the system used in the present study uniform nanosphere morphology can be synthesized, with the incubation time as an important factor in controlling the size of as-prepared products.