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Results for “ZINC SULFIDES”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

Development of a lithium fluoride zinc sulfide based neutron multiplicity counter

Past 3He shortages led to investigations into replacement options for neutron detectors in systems that previously used 3He-based technologies. The goal of this research was to investigate the feasibility of a full-scale lithium fluoride with silver activated zinc sulfide (LiF/ZnS) based neutron multiplicity counter. The LiF/ZnS based neutron multiplicity counter (LiNMC) was developed based on an iterative process between modeling and experimental measurements. Each active region of the LiNMC contains five sheets of LiF/ZnS sandwiched between six sheets of wavelength shifting plastic to form neutron detection stacks. The wavelength shifted scintillation light was collected by photomultiplier tubes located on each end of the stacks. Twelve such detector stacks were placed around a sample chamber in a square arrangement with lithiated high density polyethylene blocks in the corners to reflect high energy neutrons and capture low energy neutrons. Preliminary calibration with a 252Cf neutron source showed that the LiNMC was able to achieve 36% neutron detection efficiency (ε) and an 11.7 μs neutron die-away time (τ) for a doubles Figure-of-merit (ε2/ τ) of 109. This is the highest doubles Figure-of-merit performance measured to-date for a 3He-free neutron multiplicity counter system. By the end of this project, the LiNMC’s basic components were integrated into a single laboratory scale system capable of proof-of-concept measurements.

3He-free↗
DOE OSTI2018

Structural and Optical Study of Copper-Doped Zinc Sulfide Nanoparticles

Copper-doped zinc sulfide nanoparticles have been synthesized using a wet chemical method. The synthesized nanoparticles exhibit a zinc blende structure with the crystallite size of 3.8 nm. The morphological and optical studies of the synthesized nanoparticles have been performed. It is found that the band gap varies from 3.6 to 4.4 eV depending upon the concentration of copper. The room temperature photoluminescence of the synthesized nanoparticles has been also investigated.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS1968

Preparation of silver-activated zinc sulfide thin films

Silver improves luminescence and reduces contamination of zinc sulfide phosphors. The silver is added after the zinc sulfide phosphors are deposited in thin films by vapor evaporation, but before calcining, by immersion in a solution of silver salt.

Feldman, C.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Surface energetics of wurtzite and sphalerite polymorphs of zinc sulfide and implications for their formation in nature

Surface energetics of zinc sulfide nanoparticles determines their structure, properties, and occurrence. Using a combination of experimental techniques, we investigated the thermodynamics of the two polymorphs, sphalerite and wurtzite at bulk and nanoscale to understand their occurrence. Calorimetric measurements confirmed that wurtzite has a lower surface energy than sphalerite, which causes a reversal in phase stability at the nanoscale, with wurtzite energetically stable for particle size below 10 nm. Taking these surface energies into account, a simple model of the thermodynamics of the sphalerite - wurtzite transformation as a function of particle size and temperature can explain the occurrence of the zinc sulfide polymorphs in environments as diverse as ore bodies and planetary atmospheres.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2018

Cryomilled zinc sulfide: A prophylactic for Staphylococcus aureus-infected wounds

Bacterial pathogens that colonize wounds form biofilms, which protect the bacteria from the effect of host immune response and antibiotics. This paper examined the effectiveness of newly synthesized zinc sulfide in inhibiting biofilm development by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) strains. Zinc sulfide (ZnS) was anaerobically biosynthesized to produce CompA, which was further processed by cryomilling to maximize the antibacterial properties to produce CompB. The effect of the two compounds on the S. aureus strain AH133 was compared using zone of inhibition assay. The compounds were formulated in a polyethylene glycol cream. We compared the effect of the two compounds on biofilm development by AH133 and two methicillin-resistant S. aureus clinical isolates using the in vitro model of wound infection. Zone of inhibition assay revealed that CompB is more effective than CompA. At 15 mg/application, the formulated cream of either compound inhibited biofilm development by AH133, which was confirmed using confocal laser scanning microscopy. At 20 mg/application, CompB inhibited biofilm development by the two methicillin-resistant S. aureus clinical isolates. To further validate the effectiveness of CompB, mice were treated using the murine model of wound infection. Finally, colony forming cell assay and in vivo live imaging results strongly suggested the inhibition of S. aureus growth.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Manufacturing demonstration of microbially mediated zinc sulfide nanoparticles in pilot-plant scale reactors

The thermophilic anaerobic metal-reducing bacterium Thermoanaerobacter sp. X513 efficiently produces zinc sulfide (ZnS) nanoparticles (NPs) in laboratory-scale ( ≤24-L) reactors. To determine whether this process can be up-scaled and adapted for pilot-plant production while maintaining NP yield and quality, a series of meso-scale experiments were performed using 100-l and 900-l reactors. Pasteurization and N 2 -sparging replaced autoclaving and boiling for deoxygenating media in the transition from small-scale to pilot-plant reactors. Consecutive 100-L batches using new or recycled media produced ZnS NPs with highly reproducible ~2 nm average crystallite size (ACS) and yields of ~0.5g L -1 , similar to small-scale batches. The 900-L pilot plant reactor produced ~ 320 g ZnS without process optimization or replacement of used medium; this quantity would be sufficient to form a ZnS thin film with ~120 nm thickness over 0.5 m width 13 km length. At all scales, the bacteria produced significant amounts of acetic, lactic and formic acids, which could be neutralized by the controlled addition of sodium hydroxide without the use of an organic pH buffer, eliminating 98% of the buffer chemical costs. In conclusion, the final NP products were characterized using XRD, ICP-OES, FTIR, DLS, and C/N analyses, which confirmed the growth medium without organic buffer enhanced the ZnS NP properties by reducing carbon and nitrogen surface coatings and supporting better dispersivity with similar ACS.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2019

Effects of growth temperatures on the structural and optoelectronic properties of sputtered zinc sulfide thin films for solar cell applications

The role of various substrate temperatures on the structural and optoelectronic properties of sputtered zinc sulfide (ZnS) thin films has been investigated in this work. The study of prepared film characterization has been done by XRD, AFM, UV–Vis spectrometry and Hall-effect measurement analysis. XRD patterns of the room temperature grown films reveal an amorphous nature, while the films deposited at 100 °C, 200 °C. 300 °C and 400 °C are found to be polycrystalline having the (111) preferential orientation. The optical bandgap values are found in the range of 3.18–3.61 eV depending on the substrate temperatures. The bulk and surface carrier densities are found in the order of 10{sup 12} cm{sup −3} and 10{sup 7} cm{sup −3}, respectively. The growth temperatures are also observed to have a significant effect on the electrical characteristic of the deposited films.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Reduced Graphene Oxide–Cadmium Zinc Sulfide Nanocomposite with Controlled Band Gap for Large-Area Thin-Film Optoelectronic Device Application

Herein, we report the one pot single step solvothermal synthesis of reduced grapheme oxide–cadmium zinc sulfide (RGO–Cd{sub 0.5}Zn{sub 0.5}S) composite. The reduction in graphene oxide (GO), synthesis of Cd{sub 0.5}Zn{sub 0.5}S (mentioned as CdZnS in the text) nanorod and decoration of CdZnS nanorods onto RGO sheet were done simultaneously. The structural, morphological and optical properties were studied thoroughly by different techniques, such as XRD, TEM, UV–Vis and PL. The PL intensity of CdZnS nanorods quenches significantly after the attachment of RGO, which confirms photoinduced charge transformation from CdZnS nanorods to RGO sheet through the interface of RGO–CdZnS. An excellent photocurrent generation in RGO–CdZnS thin-film device has been observed under simulated solar light irradiation. The photocurrent as well as photosensitivity increases linearly with the solar light intensity for all the composites. Our study establishes that the synergistic effect of RGO and CdZnS in the composite is capable of getting promising applications in the field of optoelectronic devising.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Polysulfide ligand exchange on zinc sulfide nanocrystal surfaces for improved film formation

The physical and chemical properties of nanocrystals can be modified by changing the ligands attached at their surfaces. A ligand exchange procedure with ammonium polysulfides has been developed to replace the native ligands on cubic zinc sulfide nanocrystals. Several mixtures of polysulfides in formamide and other solvents were prepared with different average chain lengths and used to achieve high yield ligand exchange, as confirmed by UV–vis spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results show that polysulfide content can be increased with longer surface ligands and that the exchange process yields compositionally pure surfaces before and after high temperature anneals. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy show that, when annealed in nitrogen at 525 °C, polysulfide ligands lead to average crystal sizes 2–3 times larger than in the un-exchanged control sample. The ligand exchange procedure itself does not alter nanocrystal size. Nanocrystal inks prepared from the exchanged samples form thin films that exhibit superior grain growth, morphology, mass retention, and composition compared to the un-exchanged material. Overall, polysulfide species are demonstrated as alternative ligands for the surfaces of metal chalcogenide nanocrystals which, when incorporated in an efficient ligand-exchange procedure, can improve the quality of ZnS nanocrystal inks.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Surface-texture evolution of different chemical-vapor-deposited zinc sulfide flats polished with various magnetorheological fluids

The macro-structure of chemical-vapor-deposited (CVD) zinc sulfide (ZnS) substrates is characterizedby cone-like structures that start growing at the early stages of deposition. As deposition progresses,these cones grow larger and reach centimeter size in height and millimeter size in width. It is challengingto polish out these features from the top layer, particularly for the magnetorheological finishing (MRF)process. A conventional MR fluid tends to leave submillimeter surface artifacts on the finished surface,which is a direct result of the cone-like structure. Here we describe the MRF process of polishing four CVD ZnS substrates, manufactured by four differentvendors, with conventional MR fluid at pH 10 and zirconia-coated-CI (carbonyl iron) MR fluids at pH 4, 5,and 6. We report on the surface–texture evolution of the substrates as they were MRF polished with thedifferent fluids. We show that performances of the zirconia-coated-CI MR fluid at pH 4 are significantlyhigher than that of the same fluid at pH levels of 5 and 6 and moderately higher than that of a conventionalMR fluid at pH 10. An improvement in surface–texture variability from part to part was also observedwith the pH 4 MR fluid.

CVD ZnS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Magnetorheological finishing of chemical-vapor deposited zinc sulfide via chemically and mechanically modified fluids

In this study, we describe the anisotropy in the material removal rate (MRR) of the polycrystalline, chemical-vapor deposited zinc sulfide (ZnS).We define the polycrystalline anisotropy via microhardness and chemical erosion tests for four crystallographic orientations of ZnS: (100), (110), (111), and (311). Anisotropy in the MRR was studied under magnetorheological finishing (MRF) conditions. Three chemically and mechanically modified magnetorheological (MR) fluids at pH values of 4, 5, and 6 were used to test the MRR variations among the four single-crystal planes. When polishing the single-crystal planes and the polycrystalline with pH 5 and pH 6MR fluids, variations were found in the MRR among the four single-crystal planes and surface artifacts were observed on the polycrystalline material. When polishing the single-crystal planes and the polycrystalline with the modified MR fluid at pH 4, however, minimal variation was observed in the MRR among the four orientations and a reduction in surface artifacts was achieved on the polycrystalline material.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2018

Manganese Doped Zinc Sulfide Quantum Dots as Efficient Photocatalyst for Dye Decolorization

A simple aqueous based synthesis technique at room temperature was performed for preparation of pure and manganese (Mn{sup 2+}) doped ZnS quantum dots in the presence of glutathione as the capping agent. Under UV-excitation quantum dots show photoluminescence bands at 2.13 and 3.0 eV corresponded to Mn{sup 2+} and intrinsic ZnS emission respectively. ZnS quantum dots were used as the photocatalyst to remove organic dyes in aqueous solution, with methylene blue as a model dye. The influence of the Mn{sup 2+} concentration on the dye degradation efficiency was studied. The highest photocatalytic degradation rate of methylene blue was obtained for ZnS quantum dots in glutathione shell doped with 0.125 at % of Mn{sup 2+}.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗