Facile synthesis of zirconium trisulfide and hafnium trisulfide nanobelts: Growth mechanism and Raman spectroscopy

Abstract High-purity zirconium trisulfide (ZrS 3 ) and hafnium trisulfide (HfS 3 ) nanobelts with maximal length of 2–5 mm have been successfully synthesized through a chemical vapor transport (CVT) process. XRD results show that ZrS 3 and HfS 3 crystallize in the monoclinic system. SEM images reveal that ZrS 3 and HfS 3 nanobelts have thickness ranging from 60 to 120 nm, and HRTEM images and ED patterns confirm that [100] is the dilated direction and [010] is the elongated direction for both the trisulfide nanobelts. The formation of these trisulfide nanobelts is interpreted by a vapor-solid mechanism. The results of Raman scattering show that a slight red shift and peak broadening are observed relative to those of large crystals, which may be induced by the phonon confinement effect.