Tunable synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic properties of various ZnS nanostructures

Abstract Various ZnS structures have been synthesized successfully with different sulfur sources via a facile and capping-free hydrothermal method. The effect of sulfur sources on the formation of diverse ZnS structures was fully studied on the basis of characterization results. A reasonable mechanism was proposed to illustrate the formation process of various ZnS structures synthesized with different sulfur sources. The optical properties and photocatalytic activity of three structures were also investigated in detail. We believe that ZnS structures with thiourea as sulfur source will be more suitable for the application in the optical devices. ZnS structures with TAA as sulfur source will be the best one for the degradation of organic pollutions in the environmental protection.