Synthesis Sol-Gel of Nano-Structured PbS

The main focus is laid on the sol-gel synthesis which is opening a wide window toward nano-scopic metal sulfides with properties remarkably different from that of crystalline metal sulfides . Nanocomposites PbS/SiO2 has been prepared by the sol-gel method starting from methyltrietoxysilane (MTEOS) precursors as the SiO2 sources & mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTMS) as the capping agent . The average diameter of PbS particles in the nano-composite materials can be controlled by the Pb concentration and thermally treatment. The dried gel was treated at increasing temperatures, The crystallinity, shape and size of the metal sulfide nanocrystals were investigated by x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy . The result indicates that the formation and the stability of the Pb sulfide phases are strongly affected by the precursors used as the Pb sources.

Keywords:

nano-structured metal sulfides , Pb sulfide in silica matrix , Sol-gel , properties