The Study of Structural Transition of ZnS Nanorods under High Pressure

The study of pressure behavior for ZnS nanorods by X-ray diffraction measurements up to 37.2 GPa is carried out. ZnS nanorods transform from the initial wurtzite phase to rock salt phase at 19.6 GPa without undergoing the transition to zinc blende structure, and this is the first report about the direct phase transition from wurtzite to rock salt phase for ZnS. The longitudinal c-axis of ZnS nanorods exhibits more compressible behavior than that of radial a-axis direction, which is caused by the special rod morphology, and this induces the special direct phase transition to rock salt phase without zinc blende phase in the transition process. The results show the morphology of ZnS nanorods plays a crucial role in the special pressure behavior and also suggests we could explore the various pressure behaviors applying particular shaped nanomaterials under high pressure.