N-Doped ZnS Nanoparticles Prepared through an Inorganic−Organic Hybrid Complex ZnS·(piperazine)0.5

Abstract

N-doped ZnS nanoparticles with wurtzite phase was synthesized at 150 °C, derived from an inorganic−organic complex, ZnS·(piperazine)0.5. The metastable ZnS·(piperazine)0.5 nanohybrid materials could be described as the layered structure where wurtzite ZnS layers are connected to each other through the bondings of nitrogen atoms in piperazine. It was found that with the progress of the synthetic reaction, the interlayer piperazine molecules were moved out of the layers and the phase was transformed into wurtzite ZnS. Interestingly, nitrogen atoms in piperazine could be doped into ZnS in the extraction of the interlayer molecules. Phase transition was studied by using various techniques, including powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (HR-STEM). The N-doping was characterized with UV−vis spectroscopy, and experimental and theoretical analyses of X-ray absorption structure (XANES). The N-doped ZnS was applied to the photocatalytic degradation of dye under visible light irradiation.