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 Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology 25 (2014) 115601 (9pp) doi:10.1088/0957-4484/25/11/115601

ZnS nanoparticles well dispersed in

ethylene glycol: coordination control
synthesis and application as
nanocomposite optical coatings
Yuanrong Cheng1 , Zhe Lin2 , Hao Lü2 , Liang Zhang2 and Bai Yang2
1
Department of Materials Science, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433,
People’s Republic of China
2
Key Lab of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University,
Changchun 130012, People’s Republic of China

E-mail: chengyr@fudan.edu.cn

Received 19 August 2013, revised 15 December 2013

Accepted for publication 3 January 2014
Published 20 February 2014

Abstract
The study of the preparation and application of ZnS nanoparticles (NPs) has been one of the
most prominent hotspots in the domain of semiconductor NPs. The ZnS NPs usually exist in
two crystallographic forms: zinc blende (cubic) and wurtzite (hexagonal). However, controlled
preparation of ZnS NPs with specified crystallographic forms is still a difficult problem.
Herein, zinc blende type ZnS NPs have been prepared by coordination control with
diethanolamine (DEA) in ethylene glycol (EG). The prepared ZnS NPs can be well dispersed
in EG without precipitation. The effect of DEA on the crystal form of the ZnS NPs was
studied. We conclude that in EG, when no strong coordinating agent exists for the zinc ion,
hexagonal crystal ZnS nanoparticles may be obtained, while coordinating agents such as
acetate and DEA coordinated with the zinc(II) ion can inhibit the formation of the hexagonal
ZnS crystal nucleus and the more stable zinc blende can be obtained. Moreover, transparent
nanocomposite coatings of ZnS in PU matrix were prepared. This demonstrates that the
incorporation of ZnS NPs can improve the refractive index of the optical coatings.

Keywords: ZnS nanoparticles, coordination control, diethanolamine, high refractive index,

nanocomposite
(Some figures may appear in colour only in the online journal)

1. Introduction
The study of the preparation and application of ZnS NPs has
been one of the most prominent hotspots in the domain of
semiconductor NPs. ZnS is a type of wide-gap semiconductor
material, of which the cubic form as zinc blende has a band gap
of 3.72 eV, whereas the hexagonal form as wurtzite has a band
gap of 3.77 eV [1, 2]. ZnS, with addition of suitable metal ion
such as silver(I), manganese(II), europium(III) etc, is exten-
sively used as phosphor material for photoluminescence, elec-
troluminescence and cathodoluminescence applications [3–7].
Besides, ZnS has high refractive index (2.36 at 632 nm), low
absorption coefficient in the visible and near IR region (from
400 to 2400 nm), and good dielectric properties that can be
applied for optical applications [8]. The well size-dispersed
ZnS NPs can also be utilized to prepare photonic crystals [9,
10], or doped into polymer matrix to prepare high refractive
index nanocomposite materials for many applications [11–14].
The colloid chemical route is one of the most popular
routes for preparing ZnS NPs. In order to prepare NPs well dis-
persed in solution, capping ligands and coordinating polymers
are usually utilized to stabilize the NPs against precipitation.

0957-4484/14/115601+09$33.00 1 c 2014 IOP Publishing Ltd

Printed in the UK
Nanotechnology 25 (2014) 115601 Y Cheng et al

Table 1. Experimental conditions and brief summary of the results. (The abbreviations used in the table are DEA (diethanolamine), WZ
(wurtzite ZnS), and ZB (zinc blende ZnS).)

Entry Zn precursor Stabilizing agent method Reaction time (h) Temperature (◦ C) Precipitation Phase Size (nm)a
1 Zn(OAc)2 — Reflux 5 150 YES ZB 3.75
2 Zn(OAc)2 DEA Reflux 5 150 NO ZB 3.60
3 Zn(NO3 )2 — Solvothermal 10 180 YES WZ 6.27
4 Zn(NO3 )2 DEA Solvothermal 10 150 NO ZB 3.36
5 Zn(NO3 )2 DEA Solvothermal 10 180 NO ZB 3.87
6 ZnCl2 — Solvothermal 10 180 YES WZ 19.9
7 ZnCl2 DEA Solvothermal 10 200 NO ZB 26.1
a The sizes of ZnS NPs was calculated from the XRD pattern according to the Scherrer formula.

Mostly, thiols such as 1-thioglycerol, thioglycollic acid and

mercaptoethanol are used to prepare hydrophilic NPs [15–
17]; higher fatty amines and fatty acids such as octylamine,
organophosphorus or trioctylphosphine can also be used to
prepare hydrophobic NPs [18–23]. However, the large amount
of capping ligands lowers the weight percent of the real ZnS
content in the nanoparticles, and there are rarely reports about
short chain amine molecule stabilized NPs.
Amines are usually used to prepare complexes with
metal ions by coordination chemistry [24–26]. Aminoethyl
alcohols (diethanolamine (DEA), triethanolamine, N -methyl
diethanolamine and tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane etc)
have been used to prepare complex compounds with Zn(II)
ions and Cu(II). Some papers have reported amino-ethanol
stabilized Fe3 O4 and SnS NPs [27, 28]. It was reported
that N -methyl diethanolamine can be utilized for controlling
synthesis of Fe3 O4 NPs [27]. Polyols such as ethylene glycol
(EG), glycerol (GL), diethylene glycol (DEG) etc can be
reaction media for preparing NPs such as metal oxides Fe3 O4 ,
ZnO, ZnS etc [27–31]. Zhao et al [31] prepared hexagonal
Figure 1. UV/vis absorption spectra of different reaction stages for
ZnS NPs using zinc chloride and thiourea (TU) controlled preparing ZnS using Zn(OAc)2 , TU, and DEA in EG by the
by tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide in EG. However, the refluxing method.
mechanism for the formation of hexagonal ZnS was not
mentioned, and the prepared ZnS NPs cannot disperse stably in reagents and were used without further purification. Dimethyl-
EG. In this paper, we report a novel and facile low temperature formamide (DMF) was dried by phosphorus pentoxide fol-
synthesis of ZnS NPs that have an average size less than 10 nm lowed by vacuum distillation before use.
in EG. We utilized DEA to control the synthesis of ZnS NPs
and thiourea (TU) as the sulfur source, which can control 2.2. Synthesis of the ZnS NPs
the growth of ZnS NPs by stepwise decomposition such as
homogeneous precipitation. The prepared ZnS NPs can be ZnS NPs were synthesized by the reflux method. In a typical
well dispersed in EG without precipitation. The effect of DEA experiment, Zn(OAc)2 · 2H2 O (3.67 mmol), TU (3.50 mmol),
on the crystal form of the ZnS NPs was studied. The freshly DEA (0.7 ml) and then EG (20 ml) were added to a three-
prepared ZnS nanoparticle powder can be redispersed into necked flask (50 ml). The solution was heated to 50 ◦ C under
ethylene glycol to prepare nanocomposite coatings for optical the flow of N2 whilst stirring to ensure that all solid chemicals
applications, etc. were dissolved in EG. Then mixed solution was heated at
150 ◦ C for 5 h. The well dispersed ZnS NPs in solution were
prepared without any precipitation. The above solution was
2. Materials and methods
condensed under vacuum at 92 ◦ C. White sediments were
2.1. Materials
precipitated by adding the condensed solution to acetone under
stirring with Teflon coated magnet bars. The precipitates were
Zinc acetate dihydrate (Zn(OAc)2 ·2H2 O), zinc nitrate hexahy- separated by centrifugation and then washed with acetone three
drate (Zn(NO3 )2 ·6H2 O), zinc chloride (ZnCl2 ), times followed by desiccation under vacuum for 24 h. The
diethanolamine (DEA), thiourea (TU), ethylene glycol (EG) dry powder of ZnS NPs was used for FTIR, x-ray diffraction
and 2,4-diisocyanatotoluene (TDI) were all analytical grade (XRD) and thermogravimetry analysis. The fresh dry powder

2
Nanotechnology 25 (2014) 115601 Y Cheng et al

Figure 2. TEM images of ZnS NPs. (A), (B) (HRTEM) ZnS NPs prepared using Zn(OAc)2 and TU in EG by the refluxing method at 150 ◦ C
with stabilizer DEA ((A) inset: selected area electron diffraction pattern). (C) ZnS NPs prepared using Zn(NO3 )2 and TU in EG by the
solvothermal method without stabilizer DEA. (D) ZnS NPs prepared using Zn(NO3 )2 and TU in EG by the solvothermal method at 180 ◦ C
with stabilizer DEA.

can be redispersed into EG to obtain a transparent solution for
measurements of the UV–vis spectrum and photoluminescence
(PL) to prepare nanocomposite optical coatings. For the
preparation of the testing samples for transmission election
microscopy (TEM), the dry nano-ZnS powder was dispersed
in ethanol under ultrasound, and the upper clean solution was
dropped onto a copper grid with carbon membrane.
ZnS NPs can also be prepared using Zn(NO3 )2 and ZnCl2
as zinc source to replace Zn(OAc)2 by the solvothermal
method. The experimental conditions and corresponding re-
sults are briefly listed in table 1.
2.3. Preparation of ZnS/PU nanocomposites
The freshly prepared ZnS NP powders were used to prepare
ZnS/PU nanocomposites. A desired number of ZnS NPs
were redispersed into EG after ultrasonic and heat treatment.
The typical experimental procedure for preparing optical
nanocomposites with 10 wt% ZnS is listed here. 0.080 g ZnS
NP powders and 0.189 g EG were added to a small glass
vial. In order to dilute the solution for complete dispersion
of ZnS NPs, 2.00 g DMF was added to the solution followed
by treatment of ultrasonic and heat. Then 0.530 g TDI was
added to this solution before the vial was cooled down in the
refrigerator to prevent the gelation of the solution. Then the
uniform solution was used to prepare coatings by spin-coating
on silicon or quartz substrate. Then the coatings were heated
at 80 ◦ C for 3 h and 100 ◦ C for an hour in an oven to cure.
2.4. Characterization methods
TEM images were collected using a JEOL JEM2010 transmis-
sion electron microscope operated at an accelerator voltage of
200 kV. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) experiments were
carried out on a NETZSCH STA 449C thermogravimetric
analyzer with a heating rate of 10 ◦ C min−1 from 35 to
900 ◦ C in nitrogen atmosphere. The x-ray powder diffraction
(XRD) pattern was recorded using a Siemens D-5005 x-ray
diffractometer with Cu Kα (λ = 1.5418 Å) radiation. UV–vis
absorption spectra were recorded on a Perkin-Elmer Lambda
800 UV–vis spectrophotometer in the range 200–800 nm. The
photoluminescence properties of NPs were measured on a Shi-
madzu RF-5301PC spectrofluorophotometer. The refractive
indices and the extinction coefficients of the cured coatings on
silicon substrate were determined using an M-2000VI variable
angle incidence spectroscopic ellipsometer (VASE) made by
Woollam.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Fabrication and properties of ZnS NPs
The reaction route for preparation of ZnS NPs using Zn(OAc)2
with TU and DEA by reflux method was tracked by UV–
vis absorption measurements for the different stages and
the UV–vis spectra are shown in figure 1. TU showed an
absorbance peak at 240 nm in EG according to our test. When
the reaction temperature reaches 100 ◦ C, only an absorbance

3
Nanotechnology 25 (2014) 115601
Figure 3. XRD spectra of ZnS NPs prepared by different methods: (A) ZnS prepared using Zn(OAc)2 and TU in EG by the refluxing
method; (B) ZnS using Zn(NO3 )2 and TU in EG by the solvothermal method at 180 ◦ C; (C) ZnS prepared using ZnCl2 and TU in EG by the
solvothermal method.
peak at 240 nm appears for TU, indicating that ZnS NPs
did not form. When the reaction temperature rose to 150 ◦ C,
the absorption peak for TU decreased and the onset for
ZnS absorption appeared, enhanced, and red-shifted. The
absorption peak of TU disappeared after about 30 min of
reaction and the enhancement of the ZnS absorption indicated
that TU decomposed for synthesizing and growth of ZnS NPs.
When the reaction stopped after heating for 5 h, the onset of
UV absorption was 292 nm.
A TEM photograph with a selected area electron diffrac-
tion (SAED) pattern of ZnS NPs prepared using Zn(OAc)2
with TU and DEA by reflux method is shown in figure 2(A).
It shows that ZnS NPs are nearly spherical particles with size
distributed in the range 2–10 nm. The electron diffraction (ED)
shows a set of rings instead of spots due to the random orien-
tation of the crystallites. According to the SAED calculation,
the rings correspond to the (111), (220), and (311) planes of
the cubic phase. A high-resolution TEM (HRTEM) image of
the ZnS NPs is shown in figure 2(B). The lattice spacing of
the NP was calculated to be 3.1 Å, which corresponded to the
111 plane of zinc-blende ZnS.
The XRD pattern of ZnS NPs prepared using Zn(OAc)2
with TU and DEA by the reflux method is shown in fig-
ure 3(A), revealing that the crystalline structure is a single
phase of zinc blende (ZB) (cubic) structure. The three broad
4
Y Cheng et al
diffraction peaks at 2θ 28.96, 47.98, and 56.18◦ related to
(111), (220), and (311) respectively, which are in good agree-
ment with the standard pattern of JCPDS card No 05-0566
in the PDF database (λ = 1.541 84 Å) and the ED pattern
mentioned above. As a comparison, the preparation of ZnS
using Zn(OAc)2 without DEA as stabilizer was also carried
out. The prepared ZnS NPs cannot disperse in EG and a white
precipitate appeared. The XRD of the precipitation powder
shows the cubic crystalline form of ZnS (figure 3(A)).
The size of ZnS NPs was calculated from the XRD pattern
according to the Scherrer formula, given by
0.9λ
L=
B cos θ
where L is the coherence length, B is the full width at half
maximum (FWHM) of the peak, λ is the wavelength of the
x-ray radiation (0.154 18 nm), and θ is the angle of diffraction.
In the case of spherical crystallites, the relation between L and
D, the diameter of the crystallite, is given by L = (3/4)D. The
calculated diameter of ZnS NPs prepared using Zn(OAc)2 with
TU and DEA by the reflux method is about 3.60 nm, which is
close to the result from TEM. The sizes of ZnS NPs prepared
by other methods are listed in table 1.
As to ZnS NPs prepared by the solvothermal method in
EG at 180 ◦ C with Zn(NO3 )2 as zinc source in the absence
Nanotechnology 25 (2014) 115601
Figure 4. TGA curves of ZnS NPs: (A) prepared using Zn(OAc)2
by reflux method; (B) prepared using Zn(NO3 )2 by solvothermal
method at 180 ◦ C.
of the stabilizing ligand, white precipitate ZnS was obtained.
The TEM photograph (figure 2(C)) shows that ZnS NPs tend
to aggregate. The XRD pattern (figure 3(B)) of the ZnS NPs
was hexagonal wurtzite type. As to ZnS NPs prepared by
the solvothermal method in EG with the existence of DEA,
transparent solution was obtained. The solution was condensed
under vacuum distillation and added to acetone to precipitate
ZnS NPs and then dried in vacuum. The TEM photograph
(figure 2(D)) exhibits that ZnS NPs with size distributed in the
range 2–10 nm showed less aggregation. The XRD pattern
(shown in figure 3(B)) of the ZnS NPs was that of cubic
zinc blende phase, which is different to that of ZnS prepared
without DEA. So we consider that DEA can not only stabilize
ZnS NPs for good dispersion, but also influence the crystalline
form. On enhancing the solvothermal temperature from 150 to
180 ◦ C, the size of the ZnS NPs changes from 3.36 to 3.87 nm,
according to the calculation of XRD data by the Scherrer
formula. This means that enhancing the reaction temperature
can increase the size of ZnS NPs.
When ZnCl2 was used as Zn source, excess DEA was
added in order to prevent the precipitation of ZnS NPs. The
ZnS NPs prepared using ZnCl2 were still cubic phase, while
the ZnS NPs without DEA were hexagonal wurtzite type (in
figure 3(C)).
Thermogravimetric curves of ZnS NPs obtained from
different conditions are shown in figure 4. This demonstrates
that the weight percentage of ZnS NPs decreases with rising
temperature, which may be caused by the volatilization of
the solvent DEA and EG adsorbed on the ZnS NPs. The
decomposition temperature is about 256 ◦ C for 5% weight
loss. From 300 to 420 ◦ C or so, the weight percentage drops
distinctly, which may be caused by the decomposition of
organic DEA molecules. It can be found that the residual
mass percentage of ZnS NPs at 900 ◦ C is about 73.6 wt%
and 75.5 wt% for ZnS NPs prepared using Zn(OAc)2 and
Zn(NO3 )2 respectively, indicating that the weight percent of
organic molecules capped on the ZnS surface is lower than that
of the NPs derived from the oil-phase and high-temperature
5
Y Cheng et al
Figure 5. UV–vis absorption and PL emission spectra of ZnS NPs
prepared using Zn(OAc)2 by reflux method (the inset is a
photographic image of ZnS NPs in EG under daylight and 365 nm
UV light).
method [32]. This may confer an advantage for further uses
such as for high nanophase loading nanocomposites.
The optical properties of ZnS NPs prepared by different
methods were studied. ZnS NPs prepared using Zn(OAc)2
with DEA as stabilizer can be well dispersed in EG without
any precipitation, and the transparent solution shows a blue
emission under a 365 nm UV lamp (shown in figure 5). The
UV–vis absorption spectrum shows that the ZnS NPs have an
absorption band at 290 nm due to the interband transition or
exciton absorption of the ZnS NPs. Photoluminescence spectra
indicate that ZnS NPs have a maximum excitation peak at
323 nm, and a maximum emission peak at 431 nm, which is
attributed to the trap state emission of ZnS NPs due to the broad
feature and substantial red-shift of the band. It is said that the
trap state emission may be caused by the sulfur vacancy and
the interstitial sulfur lattice of ZnS NPs [33].
The UV–vis absorbance and PL emission curve of ZnS
NPs prepared using Zn(NO3 )2 by the solvothermal method
with DEA as stabilizer at 150 and 180 ◦ C are shown in figure 6.
It seems that both the absorption and emission peaks of the
NPs shift to long wavelength when enhancing the reaction
temperature from 150 to 180 ◦ C. According to the calculation
of XRD data by the Scherrer formula, the size of the ZnS NPs
changes from 3.36 nm to 3.87 nm for the reaction temperature
of 150 ◦ C and 180 ◦ C respectively. Both the absorption and
emission peaks of NPs show size dependence. The red-shift
of the photoluminescence may be caused by the narrowed
bandgap between the hole and electron as the size of ZnS
increases [33].
3.2. Coordination-control mechanism on the crystal form of
the ZnS NPs
The mechanism that influences the crystal form of the ZnS NPs
has been studied by many scholars. According to the literature
reports, there are mainly two kinds of mechanism. The first
one is the ZnO template effect, which is that the wurtzite
type ZnO intermediate may gradually transform into wurtzite
Nanotechnology 25 (2014) 115601
Figure 6. UV–vis absorbance and PL emission curve of ZnS NPs prepared using Zn(NO3 )2 by solvothermal method at 150 and 180 ◦ C.
Figure 7. Transmittance spectra of the nanocomposite coatings with
10 wt% ZnS NPs for different thicknesses.
type ZnS involving an ion exchange pathway that nominally
replaces oxygen with sulfur [34]. The second one is the kinetic
control and thermodynamic control of the coordinating agent
with zinc ions and the resulting ZnS nanoparticles [18]. It
is said that the different coordinating agent effects on the
control the nucleation and growth rate of nanocrystals lead
to different crystal forms. Kar et al have found that ZnS
prepared using Zn(NO3 )2 in EG may be wurtzite type and
that using Zn(OAc)2 must be zinc blende type [29]. However,
they just discussed the influence of the solvent and did
not give the mechanism. Shen et al have prepared wurtzite
ZnS NPs from a single-source molecular precursor of zinc
diethyldithiocarbamate in EG [30]. Li et al have prepared
wurtzite ZnS nanomaterials by zinc ethylxanthate [18]. The
effects of ligand molecules on the coordination action with the
monomer and the nanocrystals and on the nucleation process
of the ZnS nanocrystals have been investigated. It is said that
octylamine (OA) with hexadecylamine (HDA) is a weak ligand
6
Y Cheng et al
for the zinc precursor zinc ethylxanthate and a strong ligand for
ZnS NPs, which leads to wurtzite ZnS, while trioctylphosphine
(TOP) is a strong ligand for zinc ethylxanthate and a weak
ligand for ZnS, which finally generates zinc blende ZnS
nanoparticles.
It is reported that a zinc–TU complex can be prepared
using ZnCl2 and ZnSO4 with TU [35, 36]. The complex
can decompose to generate hexagonal wurtzite ZnS [37, 38].
According to the results of preparing ZnS NPs with different
Zn sources, we proposed a mechanism for preparing ZnS NPs
in EG. When Zn(NO3 )2 or ZnCl2 are used as Zn source with
no other strong coordinating agent except TU, the Zn ion in
ethylene glycol may undergo the following reaction:
Zn2+ + nCS(NH2 )2 → {Zn[CS(NH2 )]n }2+ . (1)
When the solution is heated above 110 ◦ C, the complex may
decompose, nucleuses are generated with hexagonal form and
ZnS NPs then grows as the hexagonal crystal form.
However, when Zn(OAc)2 is used as Zn source, the Zn
ion exists as [39]
. (2)
When DEA is added to the solution of Zn(NO3 )2 , ZnCl2 ,
Zn(OAc)2 , etc, the zinc ion exists as [40]
Zn[NH(CH2 CH2 OH)2 ]2+ . (3)
The zinc complexes (2) and (3) can exist in the solution
with stability to inhibit the formation of the zinc–TU complex.
As TU decomposes to release sulfur ions, ZnS NPs form and
grow with cubic zinc blende form.
So we may conclude that in EG, when no strong coor-
dinating agent exists for the zinc ion, hexagonal crystal ZnS
Nanotechnology 25 (2014) 115601
Figure 8. A TEM image of nanocomposite coatings with different ZnS NP contents: (A) 5 wt%; (B) 10 wt%; (C) 12.4 wt%.
Figure 9. PL emission spectrum of nanocomposite coatings with
different ZnS contents excited at 325 nm (on quartz substrate).
nanoparticles may be obtained. Coordinating agents such as
acetate and DEA can coordinate with the zinc(II) ion and
inhibit the formation of the hexagonal ZnS crystal nucleus,
and more stable zinc blende is obtained. The mechanism here
is similar to that of Li et al [18].
3.3. Fabrication and properties of nanocomposites
ZnS NPs prepared using Zn(OAc)2 with DEA as stabilizer
under the refluxing method at 150 ◦ C can be redispersed into
EG for further preparation of ZnS/PU nanocomposites. The
prepared ZnS/PU nanocomposite coatings on glass substrates
show good transparency. The transparency of the coatings
with 10 wt% ZnS NPs for different thicknesses was tested
by UV–vis transmittance spectra. It can be found from figure 7
that the transmittance of coatings is above 80% in the viable
light range. TEM (figure 8) of the nanocomposites shows that
ZnS NPs are well dispersed in the polymer matrix without
any aggregation, which ensures the good transparency of the
7
Y Cheng et al
Figure 10. Refractive index curves of optical coatings with different
ZnS contents.
nanocomposite coatings. Besides, the nanocomposite coatings
on quartz substrate show the photoluminescence property and
the emission spectrum is given in figure 9. It can be seen that
the emission peak is at 430 nm when excited at 325 nm. The
photoluminescence property comes from the incorporation of
ZnS NPs, which show the emission peak of 431 nm in EG.
The refractive indices (RIs) of the nanocomposite coatings
were measured by spectroscopic ellipsometer. The dependence
of RI on wavelength for the optical coatings with different
ZnS contents is listed in figure 10. This result indicates that
ZnS NPs can contribute significantly to the increase in the
refractive index of the nanocomposites. When 12.4 wt% ZnS
NPs are introduced into the polymer, the RI of the obtained
nanocomposite coatings can reach 1.63, compared with 1.58
of the polymer matrix.
4. Conclusions
Zinc blende type ZnS NPs have been synthesized on a large
scale by coordination control with diethanolamine at low tem-
perature in EG. The prepared ZnS NPs can be well dispersed in
Nanotechnology 25 (2014) 115601
EG without precipitation. TGA study shows that ZnS NPs have
less surface-capping agent than reported previously. These
ZnS NPs also showed blue emission, which was caused by
the surface defects. The mechanism for synthesis of ZnS NPs
in EG and the factors which affect the crystal form of ZnS NPs
have been summarized. The freshly prepared ZnS NP powders
can be redispersed into EG for further fabrication of optical
coatings with good transparency and high RI. When the ZnS
contents reach 12.4%, the RI at 550 nm reaches 1.63. These
high RI coatings may be applied in anti-reflection coatings and
other optical devices.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the National Science and Tech-
nology Major Project of China (No 2013ZX02505003), the
Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai (No 13ZR1451300)
and the Research Foundation for New Young Teachers of
Fudan University (No 20520131165).
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