Abstract
Undoped and manganese doped zinc sulfide nanoparticles were produced by a fast, one-step and two-component microwave-assisted synthesis method. The solid phase retains around 78% of the initial Mn concentration, as revealed by Particle Induced X-ray Emission analysis. X-ray diffraction patterns confirmed zinc blende structure and in the transmission electron microscopy images, nanoparticles with triangular prism and cube shapes were observed, respectively with an average particle size around 7 nm and 13 nm. Dried powders of zinc sulfide nanoparticles, doped with 0.1 mol% and 0.7 mol% of Mn ions, show highest brilliance of luminescence under UV light. Increasing dopant levels resulted in a diminishing emission that vanishes above 4% of dopant concentration. The synthesis of ZnS was monitored and two main events were detected, one at 145 °C corresponding to the sol-gel phase formation and another after ~3 min at 300 °C where the precipitation of the zinc sulfide nanoparticles occurs.
Highlights
Given the outstanding luminescence and tailorability of zinc sulfide nanoparticles, it is imperative to develop simple, robust and fast synthesis methods that yield nanoparticles with a well defined geometry and emission properties
The zinc sulfide nanoparticles were obtained by microwave-assisted heating of a reactant mixture of zinc acetate (219.5 mg) in 1-dodecanethiol (5 g) at 300 °C for 25 min
The images were later processed by a script which extracts the average red, green and blue pixel color values of the whole image and conjugates it with the synthesis temperature as a function of synthesis time
Summary
Given the outstanding luminescence and tailorability of zinc sulfide nanoparticles, it is imperative to develop simple, robust and fast synthesis methods that yield nanoparticles with a well defined geometry and emission properties. In a color profile, where the red, green and blue pixel color values of the images are plotted against the synthesis time, any slight change is more detected. This allowed us to access the intermediate products by repeating the synthesis at the temperature where the color change occurred. 1-Dodecanethiol, a long chain alkylthiol with low toxicity and mild reductant properties, has been previously used as a sulfide source but it was dissolved in 1-octadecene, together with zinc acetylacetonate[15]. Another strategy was attempted, the system was simplified to two components, comprising the non-toxic zinc acetate and 1-dodecanethiol acting as solvent, reductant, sulfur source and stabilizer, simultaneously
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