From ZnS·en0.5 Nanosheets to Wurtzite ZnS Nanorods under Solvothermal Conditions

Abstract

We report here that near-monodispersed wurtzite phase ZnS nanorods can be synthesized with high yield via decomposing a sheet-like ZnS·en0.5 (en = ethylenediamine) precursor in a mixed solution of oleic acid/alcohol/hexadecylamine under mild solvothermal conditions. These as-prepared nanorods are an average of 25 nm in diameter and 300 nm in length. A high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) image and fast Fourier transform (FFT) pattern demonstrated that these nanorods were highly single-crystalline and grown along the [001] direction. A series of electron microscopy characterization results suggests that the growth of the present ZnS nanorods is governed by a novel ligand-assisted solid−solution−solid (LSSS) growth mechanism. In this mechanism, 3−10 nm sized sphere-like wurtzite ZnS nanoparticles and a small quantity of wurtzite ZnS nanorods with small aspect ratio were initially generated as the decomposition products of a ZnS·en0.5 sheet-like precursor in a solvothermal system. Then, t...