CHEMICAL COPRECIPITATION SYNTHESIS AND ENHANCED PHOTOCATALYTIC CHARACTERISTICS OF NICKEL-DOPED ZINC SULFIDE NANOPARTICLES

Metal sulfide semiconductors having wide bandgap like ZnS experience a significant decrease in band gap when transition metal ions like Ni2⁺ are doped. This alteration creates new composite materials with various uses in photonics, solar cells, optoelectronic devices, and spintronic devices. These modifications have led to improvements in ZnS nanoparticle production techniques. Nickel-doped zinc sulfide nanoparticles are synthesized by using a simple chemical coprecipitation method. Ni-doped ZnS nanoparticles have been characterized using UV-visible spectra and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Zn–S vibrational bands were detected by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy; changes in these bands suggested that Ni had been successfully incorporated into the ZnS lattice. UV–visible spectroscopy revealed a decrease in the optical band gap from 3.70 eV for 3% Ni-doped ZnS to 3.46 eV for 1% Ni-doped ZnS, demonstrating tunable optical properties due to Ni doping, which could enhance photocatalytic performance under visible light.