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Phase- and size-controllable synthesis with efficient photocatalytic activity of ZnS nanoparticles

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Abstract

We report a simple solution-based method to synthesize phase- and size-controllable ZnS nanoparticles at low temperature. Cubic ZnS (c-ZnS) and hexagonal ZnS nanoparticles (h-ZnS) were obtained by heating an aqueous solution of Zn(NO3)2·6H2O and Na2S2O3·5H2O at different temperatures. When the system was heated at 65 °C for 24 h, hexagonal crystal structure of ZnS nanoparticles, with size of 50–350 nm, was obtained, as confirmed by X-ray diffraction and selected-area electron diffraction. When the reaction temperature was 100 °C under hydrothermal condition, c-ZnS nanoparticles were obtained and exhibited monodisperse nanoparticles with average size of 4 nm. Proper rate of S releasing tuned by the variation of pH value is believed to be critical to stabilize the hexagonal ZnS nanoparticles. Compared with large size of h-ZnS nanoparticles, c-ZnS nanoparticles show higher photocatalytic activity in degrading methyl orange (MO). The degradation efficiency of c-ZnS nanoparticles reaches 97% under UV irradiation for 120 min. The good ultraviolet absorbing ability, charge separation property, and large surface area of c-ZnS nanoparticles are believed to have a positive impact on improving the degradation rate and degradation efficiency of MO.

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Acknowledgements

Authors acknowledge Major Project of Education Department in Sichan Province (15ZA0286), Startup Fund for Distinguished Scholars of Neijiang Normal University (14B03), Key Lab of Process Analysis and Control of Sichuan Universities (Major Project, 2015002) and Major Project of Science & Technology Department in Sichan Province (2016JY0168), New Teachers’ Fund for Doctor Stations, Ministry of Education (20120184120024) and National Magnetic Confinement Fusion Science Programme (2011GB112001).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Analytical Testing Center, Neijiang Normal University, Neijiang, 641100, People’s Republic of China

    Feng Huo, Chao You & Wenqing Deng

  2. School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, 610068, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China

    Feng Huo, Chao You & Wenqing Deng

  3. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30318, USA

    Yushu Wang

  4. Superconductivity and New Energy R&D Center, Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology of Materials (Ministry of Education of China), Southwest Jiaotong University, Mail Stop 165#, Chengdu, 610031, People’s Republic of China

    Feng Yang

  5. State Key Laboratory of Organic-Inorganic Composites, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, People’s Republic of China

    Yuan Pu

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  1. Feng Huo
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  2. Yushu Wang
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  3. Chao You
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  4. Wenqing Deng
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Correspondence to Feng Yang or Yuan Pu.

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Huo, F., Wang, Y., You, C. et al. Phase- and size-controllable synthesis with efficient photocatalytic activity of ZnS nanoparticles. J Mater Sci 52, 5626–5633 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-017-0797-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-017-0797-z

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