Effect of precursors on the solid-state synthesis of semiconducting PbS nanostructures

In this communication, we report facile and economical in-situ preparation of lead sulphide (PbS) nanorods and nanocubes within the Polyphenylene sulphide (PPS) matrix. PPS plays a dual role in the synthesis of the resultant nanostructures as - (i) a chalcogen source and (ii) a stabilizing matrix. We studied the effect of change of lead precursor from lead nitrate to acetate on the morphological properties of the resultant nanostructures. The effect of molar ratios of the reactants (1:1, 1:5, 1:10, 1:15 and 1:20) on the morphology of the products was also studied. The resultant nanocomposites were characterized by various physico-chemical techniques like X-ray Diffractometry (XRD), SEM equipped with EDAX, TEM and UV-Visible spectroscopy. The prima-facie observations suggest effective formation and subsequent entrapment of lead sulphide nanorods and nanocubes, respectively, when lead acetate and lead nitrate precursors were used. Additionally, simultaneous occurrence of nanocrystalline cubic lead as an impurity phase is noticed in case of heated admixtures for both the precursors.