Controllable synthesis,characterization,and growth mechanism of hollow Zn_x Cd_(1-x) S spheres generated by a one-step thermal evaporation method

Novel hollow Zn x Cd1-x S spheres that are uniform in size are synthesized through the one-step thermal evaporation of a mixture of Zn and CdS powder.From an X-ray diffraction(XRD) study,the hexagonal wurtzite phase of Zn x Cd1-x S is verified,and the Zn mole fraction(x) is determined to be 0.09.According to the experimental results,we propose a mechanism for the growth of Zn0.09Cd0.91S hollow spheres.The results of the cathodoluminescence investigation indicate uniform Zn,Cd,and S distribution of alloyed Zn0.09Cd0.91S,instead of separate CdS,ZnS,or nanocrystals of a coreshell structure.To the best of our knowledge,the fabrication of Zn x Cd1-x S hollow spheres of this kind by one-step thermal evaporation has never been reported.This work would present a new method of growing and applying hollow spheres on Si substrates,and the discovery of the Zn0.09Cd0.91S hollow spheres would make the investigation of Zn x Cd1-x S micro/nanostructures more interesting and intriguing.