We investigate the role of reagent concentrations and ambient O-2 on the morphology and growth behavior of ZnS thin films grown with the chemical bath deposition method. We investigate the role of substrate on film morphology, and find significant differences between films deposited on SiO2 versus Si. The films are also sensitive to dissolved O-2 in the bath, as it causes a layer of SiO2 to form at the ZnS/Si interface during deposition. Degassing of solutions and an N-2 atmosphere are effective to minimize this oxidation, allowing deposition of ZnS films directly onto Si. Under these conditions, we examine film properties as they relate to reagent bath concentrations. As the reagent concentrations are decreased, both the film roughness and growth rate decrease linearly. We also observe deformation and shifting of X-ray diffraction peaks that increases with decreasing reagent concentrations. The shifts are characteristic of lattice compression (caused by the substitution of oxygen for sulfur), and the deformation is characteristic of distortion of the lattice near crystal grain interfaces (caused by tensile stress from interatomic forces between neighboring crystal grains). At the weakest concentrations, the low roughness suggests a mixed growth mode in which both clusters and individual ZnS nanocrystallites contribute to film growth. With increasing reagent concentrations, the growth mode shifts and becomes dominated by deposition of clusters. (C) 2015 Elseviem B.V. All rights reserved.