Spontaneous growth and luminescence of zinc sulfide nanobelts

ZnS nanobelts have been synthesized by a simple thermal evaporation method in a N-2 atmosphere containing a small amount of CO and H-2 gases. The synthesized ZnS nanobelts have a width in the range of 40 to 120 nm, a thickness of 20 nm, and a length of several micrometers. The nanobelts are single crystals with a hexagonal wurtzite structure growing along the [001] direction. A vapor-solid process is proposed for the formation of such nanobelts. The as-prepared nanobelts shows two emission bands, around 450 and 600 nm. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.