Abstract
Nanocrystalline zinc sulfide (ZnS) thin films are prepared on glass substrates by chemical bath deposition (CBD) method using aqueous solutions of zinc chloride, thiourea ammonium hydroxide along with non-toxic complexing agent tri-sodium citrate in alkaline medium at 80 °C. The deposition time and annealing effects on the optical and morphological properties are studied. The morphological, compositional, and optical properties of the films are investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDAX) and UV-Vis spectroscopy. SEM micrographs exhibit uniform surface coverage. UV-Vis (300 nm to 800 nm) spectrophotometric measurements show transparency of the films (transmittance ranging from 69 % to 81 %), with a direct allowed energy band gap in the range of 3.87 eV to 4.03 eV. After thermal annealing at 500 °C for 120 min, the transmittance increases up to 87 %.