Abstract: Wurtzite zinc sulfide (α-ZnS) nanocrystallites were synthesized successfully by a sonochemical process using zinc chloride and thiacetamide as raw materials. The as-prepared ZnS nanocrystallites were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), transmission electron microscopy(TEM) and selected area eletron diffraction (SAED). Results show that the as-prepared ZnS nanocrystallites are in hexagonal structure with sphere morphologies and the particle size is about 20-30 nm. The three diffraction rings in the SAED image could be identified corresponding to the crystall face of (002), (110) and (112) of α-ZnS, respectively. Researching on the reaction mechanism indicates that under the ultrasonic irradiation, simonkolleite (Zn_5(OH)_8Cl_2·H_2O) is generated firstly in the reaction system, which is in a hexagonal structure, and it provides a good template for the growth of α-ZnS nanoparticles.

Key words: α-ZnS%sonochemical process%nanoparticles%reaction mechanism