Large-scale and facial fabrication of PbS nanorods by sulfuration of a Pb sheet

PbS nanostructures were synthesized by sulfuration of lead sheets in a tube furnace under sulfur ambiance. The lead sheets were placed in different temperature zones, between 330 and 470 °C. Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) images showed that only the lead sheet placed at 330 °C showed nanorods morphology. The prepared nanorods exhibited a rectangular shape with an average diameter of 95 nm and an average length of 400 nm. The phase and composition of the product were identified by x-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern and x-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS). The pattern indicated that these PbS nanorods were with a cubic phase and the XPS result showed binding energy for lead and sulfur that belonged to PbS structure. In addition, Raman measurements confirmed the XRD pattern and XPS results and indicated three Raman active modes, which belonged to PbS phase for the nanorods. The optical properties of the products were characterized by UV–visible and room temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectrometers. The optical characterization results showed a band gap for the PbS nanorods in the infrared region.