Passivative Effect of Polyethyleneglycol and Carboxylmethly Cellulose as Capping Agents on Particle Size of ZnS Nanoparticles

Abstract

ZnS nanoparticles were synthesized using wet chemical co-precipitation method. During synthesis, polyethylene glycol (PEG) and carboxylmethly cellulose (CMC) molecule were used as capping agents. The effect of the capping materials was analyzed for their effectiveness in limiting the growth of  ZnS nanoparticles. The prepared ZnS nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-rays (EDX). The estimated crystal sizes from XRD are 3.92 nm and 3.89 nm for ZnS/PEG and ZnS/CMC nanosize semiconductors respectively. The effect of capping agent on the energy band gap of the capped ZnS nanoparticles were blue shifted at 0.16 eV and 0.28 eV for ZnS/PEG and ZnS/CMC respectively. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirms the interaction of the capping agents with ZnS.

Key words: ZnS nanoparticles, capping agent, polyethylene glycol, precipitation and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose