Optical Properties of Double-Shell Hollow ZnS–Ag₂S Nanoparticles

Abstract

The light emission properties of semiconductor nanoparticles are important for their applications in optical imaging, sensors, or lasers. ZnS nanoparticles are particularly useful for these applications, but the main hindrance for their widespread use are the low emission properties of pure ZnS nanoparticles. Formation of a core/shell structure is one way that has been used to improve the emission properties of pure ZnS in recent years. This study reports a unique synthesis route and the optical properties of double-shell ZnS–Ag2S hollow nanoparticles. Light emission properties of hollow Ag2S/ZnS are maximum (39%) compared to those of hollow ZnS/Ag2S (21%) or pure ZnS (14%) nanoparticles, and these properties highly depend on the external ZnS layer thickness.