Solvothermal Synthesis and Characterization of Zinc Indium Sulfide Microspheres

ZnIn(2)S(4) microspheres have been solvothermally prepared at 160 degrees C for 12 h with ZnCl(2)center dot 2H(2)O, InCl(3), and thiourea as the starting reagents in ethanol. The morphology, structure, and phase composition of the as-prepared product were characterized by means of X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution TEM (HRTEM), and selected area electron diffraction (SAED). Results revealed that the prepared ZnIn(2)S(4) microspheres were composed of sheetlike nanocrystals. The average diameter of the microspheres and the thickness of the nanosheets are about 1-6 mu m and 10-50 nm, respectively. A possible growth mechanism of the ZnIn(2)S(4) nanosheet-built microspheres was proposed and briefly discussed.