Synthesis of ZnS nanocrystals with controllable structure and morphology and their photoluminescence property

The controllable synthesis of ZnS nanocrystals with desirable morphology and correlative structure has been carried out via the solvothermal method by simply changing the molar ratio of the reactants. The hexagonal-shaped ZnS nanosheets with a zinc-blende structure were synthesized in one step for the first time. ZnS nanorods with wurtzite structure and large ratio of length to diameter were also fabricated. We found that phase transformation is easily induced and there is a strong correlation between the morphology and structure of the ZnS nanocrystals by changing the ratio of the reactants. The photoluminescence spectra of the ZnS nanosheets and nanorods exhibit different emission bands. ZnS nanosheets show a strong emission at 534 nm while the nanorods have two emissions located at 520 and 578 nm.