Controllable synthesis of wurtzite ZnS nanorods through simple hydrothermal method in the presence of thioglycolic acid

Wurtzite ZnS nanorods were synthesized via a hydrothermal technique by adding thioglycolic acid with zinc acetate as the precursor. The as-synthesized ZnS nanorods have diameters of 40-200 nm and lengths up to 5 μm. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra, selected area electron diffraction (SEAD), and thermogravimetric-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA). The effect of reactant concentration, reaction temperatures and reaction times on crystal structures and shapes of ZnS have been investigated.