Crystal Structure, Optical Absorption and Magnetic Properties of Iron-doped Zinc Sulfide Nanopowders Synthesized via Chemical Precipitation

Zinc sulfide is a semiconductor material of significant interest due to its electrical and optical properties, making it widely utilized in electronics and optoelectronics. In this research, ZnS and Zn0.9Fe0.1S nanoparticulate powders were synthesized using the chemical precipitation method. Crystalline structures of the compounds were determined through X-Ray Diffraction measurements, along with the estimation of nanoparticle sizes. The chemical composition of the synthesized powders was analyzed using infrared spectroscopy. Energy band gaps of the compounds at different temperatures were determined through optical absorption measurements. Magnetization measurements were conducted at room temperature, depending on the applied magnetic field, to study the magnetic behavior. The compounds were made up of nanoparticles with an estimated mean size of approximately 4 nm, which crystallized in the zincblende cubic structure, presenting a second crystalline phase corresponding to sodium nitrate derived from the precursor reagents used in the synthesis. The optical properties of the synthesized powders reveal that they have the characteristic behavior of semiconductor materials, with a decrease in the band gap as the temperature increases. At 300 K, the ZnS and Zn0.9Fe0.1S nanocompounds have an energy band gap of 2.95 and 3.06 eV, respectively. At room temperature, iron-doped zinc sulfide nanoparticles exhibited weak paramagnetic behavior.