T he monodisperse submicrometer zinc sulfide (ZnS) hollow spheres were synthesized by gamma-ray irradiation at room temperature, using monodisperse silica spheres as the templates. In order to obtain ZnS hollow spheres, the ZnS-coated SiO2, core-shell particles were prepared through gamma-ray irradiation deposition in an aqueous containing zinc acetate and sulfide, released through the hydrolysis of thioacetamide, followed by dissolving the SiO2, cores using hydrofluoric acid. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and UV-vis spectroscopy were used to characterize these nanoparticles, indicating the formation of core-shell colloidal spheres, as well as hollow spheres. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.