ZnS nanospheres and nanoshuttles were obtained in a simple reverse micelle system containing cyclohexane as oil phase, aqueous solution [0.1 mol•L^－1 Na₂S and 0.1 mol•L^－1 Zn(OAc)₂] as reactant, n-pentanol as co-surfactant and surfactant (peregals). XRD and TEM were used to characterize the products. The results show that the obtained ZnS nanospheres and nanoshuttles are of hexagonal primitive phase with calculated cell parameters a＝0.3823 nm and c＝56.2 nm. The diameters of the nanospheres are about 50 nm. The nanoshuttles are about 60 nm in diameter with length of about 110 nm. UV-Vis spectrum shows that such ZnS nanospheres and nanoshuttles have absorptions at 288 and 305 nm respectively, which mean about 60 and 50 nm blue shifts from the bulky counterpart. The emission peak appeared at 408 and 303 nm when they were excited at 270 nm. The mechanism of the formation of the nanoshuttles was also explored.

Key words: reverse micelle, ZnS, nanosphere, nanoshuttle, monodisperse, optical property