Facile and Room Temperature Preparation and Characterization of PbS Nanoparticles in Aqueous [EMIM][EtSO₄] Ionic Liquid Using Ultrasonic Irradiation

Abstract

At room-temperature, a facile, seedless, and environmentally benign green route for the synthesis of star like PbS nanoclusters at 7 min in aqueous solution of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethyl sulfate, [EMIM] [EtSO4], room-temperature ionic liquid (RTIL), via ultrasonic irradiation is proposed. The X-ray diffraction studies display that the products are excellently crystallized in the form of cubic structure. An energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) investigation reveals the products are extremely pure. The absorption spectra of the product exhibit band gap energy of about 4.27 eV which shows an enormous blue shift of 3.86 eV that can be attributed to very small size of PbS nanoparticles produced and quantum confinement effect. A possible formation mechanism of the PbS nanoparticles using ultrasonic irradiation in aqueous solution of the RTIL is presented.