Abstract

Honey, a common natural product contains biomolecules responsible for the reduction and stabilization of nanoparticles. In this paper, we have demonstrated the cost effective, eco-friendly green synthesis of zinc sulphide nano/microstructures by chemical co-precipitation method using honey as the stabilizing agent. The structural and morphological properties of zinc sulphide nano/microstructures were studied by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-rays spectroscopy and Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy. Comparative studies on the synthesized zinc sulphide nano/microstructures before and after calcinations (700 0C) were carried out using UV-visible and photoluminescence spectroscopy. UVvisible spectroscopy data shows that there is blue shift of the absorption peak for the synthesized zinc sulphide nano/microstructures sample (Eg=4.08 eV) and red shift of the absorption peak for the calcinized (700 oC) sample (Eg=3.37 eV) with respect to bulk sample. X-ray diffraction data reveals that phase transformation has occurred after calcination from cubic zinc blende structure to hexagonally packed wurtzite structure and it is also partially oxidized to zinc oxide.

Keywords: Zinc sulphide; Calcinations; Honey; Zinc oxide; Wurtzite; Zinc blende