Zinc sulfide (ZnS) nanoparticles were prepared by homogeneous hydrolysis of zinc sulfate and thioacetamide(TAA) at 80 <
IMG SRC="/images/entities/deg.gif">C. After annealing at a temperature above 400
C in oxygen atmosphere, zinc oxide (ZnO)nanoparticles were obtained. The ZnS and ZnO nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD),scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), selectedarea electron diffraction (SAED), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET)/Barrett-Joyner-Halenda (BJH)methods were used for surface area and porosity determination. The photocatalytic activity of as-preparedzinc oxide samples was determined by decomposition of Orange II dye in aqueous solution under UV irradiationof 365 nm wavelength. Synthesized ZnO were evaluated for their non-photochemical degradation ability ofchemical warfare agents to nontoxic products.