Abstract
A general synthetic method has been developed to precisely control the shape and size of ZnS nanorods, nanowires, whiskers, and hierarchical nanostructures. The control was achieved owing to creation of specific growth conditions while adopting carefully selected catalysts and tuning their size during a catalytic vapor-liquid-solid growth process. The UV-vis absorption spectra of small diameter ZnS nanorods show a blue shift compared with large diameter ZnS nanowires, thus displaying a quantum confinement effect highly valuable for novel nanoscale optoelectronic devices. It is envisaged that it is possible to controllably grow other nanostructures using the analogous approach.