Abstract
ZnS powder was synthesized using a relatively facile and convenient glycothermal method at various reaction temperatures. ZnS was successfully synthesized at temperatures as low as $125^{\circ}C$ using zinc acetate and thiourea as raw materials, and diethylene glycol as the solvent. No mineralizers or precipitation processes were used in the fabrication, which suggests that the spherical ZnS powders were directly prepared in the glycothermal method. The phase composition, morphology, and optical properties of the prepared ZnS powders were characterized using XRD, FE-SEM, and UV-vis measurements. The prepared ZnS powders had a zinc blende structure and showed average primary particles with diameters of approximately 20~30 nm, calculated from the XRD peak width. All of the powders consisted of aggregated secondary powders with spherical morphology and a size of approximately $0.1{\sim}0.5{\mu}m$; these powders contained many small primary nanopowders. The as-prepared ZnS exhibited strong photo absorption in the UV region, and a red-shift in the optical absorption spectra due to the improvement in powder size and crystallinity with increasing reaction temperature. The effects of the reaction temperature on the photocatalytic properties of the ZnS powders were investigated. The photocatalytic properties of the as-synthesized ZnS powders were evaluated according to the removal degree of methyl orange (MO) under UV irradiation (${\lambda}=365nm$). It was found that the ZnS powder prepared at above $175^{\circ}C$ exhibited the highest photocatalytic degradation, with nearly 95 % of MO decomposed through the mediation of photo-generated hydroxyl radicals after irradiation for 60 min. These results suggest that the ZnS powders could potentially be applicable as photocatalysts for the efficient degradation of organic pollutants.
