Investigating photoluminescence properties of Ca-doped ZnS nanoparticles prepared via hydrothermal method

The structural, morphological and optical properties of pure and Ca-doped zinc sulfide (ZnS:Ca) nanoparticles (NPs) prepared by hydrothermal method at different percentages of Ca are reported herein. The resulting NPs were characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), Raman scattering, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The XRD patterns confirmed the crystalline nature of all pure and doped NPs showing a single phase cubic blende structure, whereas the SEM micrographs showed sphere-shaped NPs. The sizes of the as-prepared NPs estimated by TEM were found to be in the range 44-147 nm. The PL emission spectra of ZnS:Ca nanocrystals excited at 400 nm consist of a broad band (420 nm-640 nm) characterized by two main contributions peaking at 484 and 533 nm. The overall maximum emission intensity is found for ZnS:3% Ca with internal quantum yield of 8.4%.

Automated summary

This study reports the structural, morphological, and optical properties of pure and Ca-doped zinc sulfide nanoparticles prepared by a hydrothermal method at different levels of Ca. Characterization techniques such as XRD, Raman scattering, SEM, TEM, and PL spectroscopy were used to analyze the resulting nanoparticles. The findings indicate that Ca doping influences the structure and photoluminescence properties of the ZnS nanoparticles.