Luminescence enhancement of zincblende ZnS:Cl- nanoparticles synthesized by a low temperature solid state reaction method

Cl--doped ZnS (ZnS:Cl-) nanoparticles with strong blue emission were synthesized using a facile low temperature solid state reaction method. X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, UV vis absorption, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to characterize their crystal structures, microstructural characteristics, and chemical compositions, respectively. The ZnS:Cl- nanoparticles were quasi-spherical in shape and had a cubic zincblende crystal structure. Cl- doping was found to lead to a reduction in the crystallite size of the ZnS:Cl- nanoparticles. It showed that Cl- doping remarkably enhanced the luminescence properties of the ZnS:Cl- nanoparticles, and an optimal Cl doping condition was determined. Post annealing was found to further improve the luminescence properties of the ZnS:Cl- nanoparticles. The effect of post annealing temperature on the luminescence properties of the ZnS:Cl- nanoparticles was systematically studied and discussed. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.