Investigations on capping-induced changes in structural, optical, and thermal properties of Zn0.96Ni0.04S nanoparticles

Abstract

We present the chemical precipitation technique for producing several quantities of sodium hexametaphosphate (SHMP) capped zinc sulphide nanoparticles doped with Ni2+ in an ambient environment. The average grain size of the nanoparticles generated was tuned by using SHMP concentration. SEM with EDAX, HRTEM, and SAED patterns was used to confirm the particle size, crystallinity, and composition. Compared to bulk ZnS, UV–Vis spectra of both capped and uncapped samples reveal a blue shift in the absorption edge. FTIR studies confirmed the capping of SHMP on the surface of Ni-doped ZnS. PL spectra of ZnS:Ni2+ nanoparticles exhibit intense and sustained visible-light emissions. The intensity of the blue emission centered at 468 nm increased with increasing SHMP concentration up to 0.75 wt percent but decreased with higher concentrations of SHMP. TG – DTA results show that SHMP – ZnS (Ni-doped) nanoparticles have excellent thermal stability due to improved shape and compactness.

Keywords

• ZnS:Ni2+ nanoparticles
• SHMP
• bandgap
• HR-TEM
• optical property