Sol–Gel Auto-Combustion Synthesis of ZnS Nanoparticles and Their Influence on the Thermal Conductivity and Mechanical Performance of Epoxy Nanocomposites
نویسندگان
1 Department of Physics, College of Science, University of Diyala, Diyala, Iraq
2 Department of Physics, College of Science, University of Diyala, Diyala, Iraq
3 Department of Physics, College of Science, University of Diyala, Diyala, Iraq
4 Department of Physics, College of Science, University of Diyala, Diyala, Iraq
5 Department of Physics, College of Science, University of Diyala, Diyala, Iraq
6 Department of Physics, College of Science, University of Diyala, Diyala, Iraq
doi
10.22052/JNS.2026.03.041چکیده
A series of ZnS semiconductor nanoparticles were synthesized successfully by sol–gel method with zinc nitrate and thiourea as precursors of Zn and S, respectively. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the formation of a cubic crystalline phase. Diffraction peaks A-C had the lattice parameter values (a) were 5.349, 5.374 and 5.383 Å respectively which shows good agreement with usual cubic ZnS structure. The crystallite size was found to be 28.549 nm, confirming the nanocrystalline nature of the prepared sample. The strain (ε) values were found to be 0.0013, 0.00095, and 0.0018 for the main diffraction peaks, indicating slight lattice distortion in the synthesized nanoparticles. FESEM was used to determine the particle size and surface morphology of the synthesized ZnS nanoparticles, revealing nearly spherical particles with noticeable agglomeration and an average particle size of around 66.87 nm. Epoxy/ZnS nanocomposites were hand- lay-up at room temperature, ZnS nanoparticles was added at (0, 1.5, 3, 4.5, and 6) wt%. Adding ZnS nanoparticles to epoxy significantly increases thermal conductivity (from 0.42 to ~0.89 W·m−1·K−1) as filler loading rises (0–6 wt%). Finally, epoxy/ZnS nanocomposites were a sustainability application, thermally conductive, durable encapsulates for photovoltaic (solar) modules to improve heat dissipation, extend module lifetime, and increase energy yield.
