title: Pressure-induced transition-temperature reduction in ZnS nanoparticles.
abstract: The study of the structural transition in nanoscale materials is of particular interest for their potential applications. In the present study, we have observed a lower temperature T = 250 °C for the phase transition from the sphalerite structure to the wurtzite structure in ZnS nanoparticles under a pressure of 1 GPa, as compared to those, T = 400 and 1020 °C, for ZnS nanoparticles and bulk ZnS under normal pressure, respectively. The reduced transition temperature is attributed to the applied pressure leading to tight particle-particle contacts, which change the surface (or interfacial) environment of the nanoparticles and thus their surface (or interfacial) energy.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Metastable Materials Science and Technology, Yanshan University, 066004 Qinhuangdao, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Cuizhuo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Yanguo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Hongyu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Defeng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Xiaohong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Baoting
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Xiangyi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang