Formation and characterization of ZnS nanobelts with bamboo leaf-like morphology

A kind of novel ZnS nanobelts with bamboo leaf-like morphology were formed by thermal ZnS powder. As-grown ZnS products were characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). As-grown bamboo-like ZnS nanobelts are 50 to 100 μm in thickness, 500 to 600 nm in width, and tens of micrometers in length. TEM and SAED (selected area electron diffraction) results show as-grown ZnS nanobelts have hexagonal wurtzite structure. Room-temperature photoluminescence measurement shows that the formed ZnS nanostructures have a strong blue emission peak at a wavelength of 424 nm, which can be attributed to deep-level emissions induced by defeats and other surface states. The growth mechanism of as-grown nanobelts is also discussed.