Chemical Precursors to Zinc Sulfide: ZnS Whisker Synthesis

A variety of reactions employing organometallic precursors have been explored for the synthesis of ZnS. One of the most successful routes involves the reaction of [EtZn(SButS)]5 with H2S at ambient or sub-ambient temperature to yield a precipitate which is subsequently heated under flowing H2S at 500°C to yield a mixture of sub-micron particles and single-crystal ZnS whiskers. Transmission electron micrographs of the [EtZn(SBut)]5 products indicate that the ZnS morphology is critically dependent upon the rate of H2S reaction. Corresponding x-ray/ electron diffraction, electron microscopy, elemental analysis, NMR and infrared spectroscopies have been conducted. A summary of the chemical methods, product characterization results, and proposed synthesis mechanisms will be presented. The authors gratefully acknowledge the Office of Naval Research for the support of this research under Contract N0014–86-K-0191.