Structural, Morphological, and Optical Studies of ZnS-MoS2 Nanocomposite via Hydrothermal Route

ZnS-MoS2 nanocomposite was synthesized by a cost-effective and eco-friendly hydrothermal method to investigate and compare the structural and optical properties of ZnS-MoS2 nanocomposite powder with those of pure ZnS and MoS2. The structural, morphological, and optical absorption properties of the prepared powder samples were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Powder XRD results showed both cubic-phase and hexagonal-phase structures in ZnS and MoS2. The average crystallite size varied from 20 nm to 25 nm for the hydrothermally prepared nanocomposite. The dislocation density and lattice strain were also calculated. The surface morphology of the prepared nanocomposite showed spherical, hexagonal, and flower-shaped nanoparticles with agglomeration. With the coupling of ZnS and MoS2, a slight variation was found in the energy band gap that slightly red-shifted from 3.61 to 3.57 eV. The characteristic frequencies related to ZnS-MoS2 nanocomposite and other related precursor molecules were determined by FT-IR spectra.