Structural and optical study of mixed structure of ZnO(hexagonal)/ZnS(cubic) nanocomposites

ZnO, ZnS and ZnO/ZnS nanocomposites were successfully synthesized by chemical method in an air atmosphere. Water-ethanol matrix was used as solvent. The as-obtained samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-visible (UV-vis) and photoluminescence (PL) spectrophotometer. The results showed that the ZnS nanoparticles are cubic in structure with the size of about 5 nm growed on the surface of the hexagonal ZnO nanocomposites. The optical study of ZnO/ZnS nanocomposites showed an enhanced PL emission in visible region. The photoluminescence property of the ZnO/ZnS core/shell nanocomposites is varied with respect to the shell thicknesses. PL quenching is observed by increasing of shell thickness on ZnO. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.