Formation of hexagonal shaped wurtzite zinc sulphide nano rods

Zinc sulfide nanorods with good photoluminescence have been successfully fabricated using a simple sol-gel process via ultrasonication, with mercaptoethanol as capping agent. The formation of ZnS nucleation, followed by subsequent growth, is significant in obtaining highly oriented ZnS nanorods. Temperature, time, and capping agent also proved to be significant factors in the growth of ZnS nanorods and greatly affect their photo luminescent properties. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, low and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM & HRTEM), selected-area electron diffraction (SAED) pattern, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicated that the ZnS nanorods were single crystal in nature and that they had grown up preferentially along the [0001] direction. This simple method of nucleation, followed by their successive growth, resulted in the development of an effective and low-cost fabrication process for high-quality ZnS nanorods with good photo luminescent properties that can be applied to luminescent sensors and optoelectronic devices.