Analysis of dominant and intense XRD peak of (111) plane of ZnS nanocrystals for microstructural study through single line Voigt method: Calculated low dislocation density value emphasizes larger stacking of (111) plane

Abstract

In this work, a wet chemical synthesis method has been used for the preparation of ZnS nanocrystals using the precursor Zn(NO3)2 (Zinc Nitrate) and Na2S (Sodium sulfide), where 3-Mercaptopropionic acid has been used as a capping agent. Morphological characterization of the prepared ZnS nanocrystals has been performed through HR-TEM and FE-SEM analysis and the average particle size has been obtained as approximately 26 nm. The HR-TEM image also suggests the formation of smooth crystalline ZnS nanoparticles with dominance of the (111) plane. The XRD pattern firmly indicates dominance of (111) crystalline planes over the other planes. For this, different microstructural properties of prepared ZnS nanoparticles have been studied considering only the dominant (111) diffraction peak using single line Voigt method. Finally, the average particle size calculated from morphological analysis has been compared with the crystallite size calculated by XRD analysis through the Single line Voigt method. Calculated dislocation density value indicates presence of less defects states in the sample and confirms the growth of ZnS nanoparticles in a particular direction of (111) plane with pure crystalline nature.