New ZnS/organic composite nanoribbons: characterization, thermal stability and photoluminescence

A new inorganic/organic (I/O) nanocomposite (ZnS/NaSCH2COONa) with a ribbon-like structure was synthesized by using Zn(NO3)2·7H2O and thioglycolic acid as reactants under hydrothermal conditions at 160 °C. SEM, TEM, XRD, XPS, IR and XAFS were used to characterize and analyse the morphology, microstructure and formation mechanism of the new I/O composite material. The ZnS nanocrystals are about 4.5 nm in diameter and distribute in the nanoribbons uniformly. The ZnS/NaSCH2COONa nanoribbons would decompose into nearly monodispersed wurtzite ZnS sphere-like nanostructures with a diameter of about 300 nm through hydrothermal treatment. Photoluminescence (PL) was used to study the optical properties of ZnS/NaSCH2COONa nanoribbons. Compared with the wurtzite ZnS sphere-like nanostructures, the I/O composite nanoribbons presented a greatly enhanced light emission at 425 nm, which indicates their potential applications in luminescence materials.