Nanostructure materials for destruction of warfare agents and eco-toxins prepared by homogeneous hydrolysis with thioacetamide: Part 1—zinc oxide

Zinc sulphide (ZnS) nanoparticles were prepared by homogeneous hydrolysis of zinc sulphate and thioacetamide (TAA) at 80 °C. After annealing at temperature above 400 °C in oxygen atmosphere, zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were obtained. The ZnS and ZnO nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high resolution transmission microscopy (HRTEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), by BET and BJH methods used for surface area and porosity determination. The photocatalytic activity of the as-prepared ZnO samples was determined by the decomposition of Orange II in the aqueous solution under UV irradiation of 365 nm of wavelength.