Growth of zinc compound nanocrystals from different electrolytes

The influence of the electrolyte composition on electrolytically synthesized zinc compound powders has been studied. It has been shown that if an electrolyte made by dissolving Na$_{2}$S$_{2}$O$_{3}\cdot$5H$_{2}$O is kept at room temperature, a mixture of zinc sulfide and hydrozincite is obtained. An electrolyte containing Na$_{2}$SO$_{3}$ or Na$_{2}$S$\cdot$9H$_{2}$O gives a mixture of hydrozincite with zinc oxide and/or with zinc sulfide. The size of nanocrystals has been determined. It has been found that hydrozincite decomposes into zinc oxide, water, and carbon dioxide in the temperature range of 200–250$^{\circ}$C.