Formation of zinc sulfide nanorods and nanoparticles in ternary W/O microemulsions

A simple, easy approach to the synthesis of semiconductor ZnS nanorods and nanoparticles exhibiting versatile morphology-formation ability is reported. Water-insoluble zinc sulfide nanocrystals were synthesized in ternary water-in-oil (w/o) microemulsion systems stabilized by either nonionic or, in contrast, cationic surfactant. Products were visualized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and identified by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX); electron diffraction (ED) was also performed for individual nanorods. With varying molar ratios of water to surfactant (omega0) in solution, hence changing droplet sizes of water pool of microemulsions consequently, several morphologies with different size spans were encountered in the formation of ZnS, such as nanorods and spherical or ellipsoidal particles. Meanwhile, product morphology was also found to be sensitive to the absolute reactant concentration and concentration ratio of Zn2+] to S2-], the incubation time, and the ambient temperature. A schematic mechanism for the formation of ZnS nanocrystals and their morphological diversity is described. It is feasible to extend this method to the synthesis of one-dimensional nanocrystals of other semiconductors, given suitable formulae of microemulsions and other appropriate reaction conditions.