INFLUENCE OF PH ON THE STRUCTURAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF ZnS THIN FILMS

The ZnS thin films have been obtained from aqueous solution by means of cyclic voltammetry method. The electrochemical bath consisted of zinc sulphate, sodium thiosulfate and triethanolamine. The effect of electrolyte pH on the properties of ZnS thin films was investigated within the range from 3 to 9. The cyclic voltammetry was used to analyse the electrochemical bath. The structural and morphological of thin films were investigated by X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy, respectively. The thin films obtained have cubic structure and single phase as analysed by XRD. As the pH was reduced from 9 to 3, the intensities of the peaks corresponding to ZnS increased. AFM image shows the thin films prepared at pH 3 are homogeneous and well covered on the substrate. These thin films consist of small grains which lead to deposition of smoother films. However, as the pH increases up to 7, the number of grains decreases and larger grain size could be obtained. Therefore, the pH plays a major role in synthesis of ZnS thin film and the pH 3 is the best pH under current conditions.