Microwave-Assisted Heating Method for the Decoration of Carbon Nanotubes with Zinc Sulfide Nanoparticles

Abstract

This study focuses on in situ synthesis of ZnS nanoparticles on the surface of multiwalled carbon nanotubes. By microwave-assisted chemical reaction of Zn(Ac)₂·2H₂O and NaS·9H₂O in glycol solution with carbon nanotubes, which were pretreated by oxidization in concentrated HNO₃. Zinc sulfide crystallite densely supported on carbon nanotubes with the diameter about 1 nm. The carbon nanotubes decorated by ZnS were characterized using transmission electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction. It is found that the multi-walled carbon nanotubes can not only act as a substrate but also change the crystal structures of ZnS in the reaction.

Keywords:

• Carbon nanotubes
• coating
• dispersion
• electron microscopy
• functional groups

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the support by Science and Technology Program of Shandong Provincial Education Department (J07YA11-1) and Shandong Province Research Fund for Excellent Youth.