Hydrothermal synthesis of ZnS microspheres with highly effective photocatalytic and antibacterial properties

In this work, ZnS microspheres with good dispersibility and high surface area have been successfully synthesized via a facile hydrothermal method in the absence of surfactant or template. The formation of ZnS microspheres were fully investigated by tuning the hydrothermal reaction time. The formation of ZnS microspheres could be attributed to oriented aggregation of nanoparticles followed by Ostwald ripening process. The band gap of ZnS microspheres was estimated to be 3.45 eV on the basis of UV-Vis spectrum. ZnS microspheres presented a wide and strong green emission centered at 522 nm. The photocatalytic results indicated that ZnS microspheres have superior ability of photodegradation organic pollutants. Moreover, the ZnS structures presented good antibacterial activity. It is believed that the obtained ZnS microspheres have huge potential in environmental protection and medical industry.