Flowerlike PbS Microcrystals: Citric Acid Assisted Synthesis, Shape Evolution, and Electrical Conductivities

Abstract

Lead sulfide (PbS) with various morphologies including flowerlike, microsphere, multipod, six‐armed star, and truncated octahedron has been synthesized selectively under hydrothermal conditions. The synthesis procedure variables such as concentration of the citric acid (CA), kinds of surfactant, reaction temperature, and reaction time were observed to influence the resultant shape of PbS microstructures. The structure and morphology of the obtained products were characterized by means of X‐ray diffraction (XRD), field‐emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDS), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. On the basis of the time‐dependent experimental data, the possible formation mechanism related to facet‐selective growth and dissolution–recrystallization was presented. Furthermore, the electrical conductivities for different morphologies of PbS were measured to investigate the possible effect of morphology on the electrical conductivity.

Perfect peony-like PbS films in situ synthesized on flexible lead foils

“…Several groups have reported rod-or nanocube-shaped PbS using ethylenediamine as solution, however, there is no peony-like result [9][10][11]. Although several groups have reported the formation of flower-like PbS crystals [12][13][14][15][16][17][18], detailed observation reveals that those ''flowers'' are quite different from ours. The main difference lies in the morphology and arrangement.…”

Self-assembled magnetite peony structures with petal-like nanoslices: one-step synthesis, excellent magnetic and water treatment properties

“…Such a process is consistent with previous reports of a so-called two-step growth process, which involves the initial nucleation and a subsequent growth stage, self-assembly and secondary growth stage. 20 In our experiment, N(CH 2 CH 2 OH) 3 molecules first coordinate with Fe 3+ and Fe 2+ ions to produce iron alkoxides, which precipitate to become the nuclei and crystallize as nanocubes because of their highly symmetric cubic structure. At the growth stage, the growth rates on different facets are determined by the surface energy, and the general sequence for the surface energies of magnetite structure is c{111} , c{100} , c{110}.…”

CHARACTERIZATION OF PbS FILM PRODUCED BY CHEMICAL BATH DEPOSITION AT ROOM TEMPERATURE

“…The PbS film having flowerlike morphology shows a higher electrical conductivity than the other morphologies, which may have potential use in the design of PbS crystals with desirable morphology for the production of thermoelectric devices. [41]. A few papers on flower like PbS films have been reported by Davar et all.…”

“…[40] and Jin et all. [41]. FT-IR spectroscopy technique can be employed to generate a spectroscopic fingerprint for identification and comparison of compounds.…”