Chemical Co-precipitation Route Research Articles

The optimization of natural resources of local indonesian materials to synthesize magnetic and magnetic hybrid particles via chemical ablation, co-precipitation, and hydrothermal route process

The magnetic nano-particle synthesized from natural iron sand had been successfully done. Generally, this natural iron sand is a kind of natural waste in Indonesia that has not been optimally used. This research is expected to explain the utilization of Indonesian local natural iron sand as an advanced magnetic material resource. Therefore the reader of this article can develop it for further application. Magnetic particles are a material that is very promising in supporting developments of science and technology. One of them is the development in medical fields. Most previous researchers carried out the magnetic synthesis of particles using chemicals as precursors. In this study, the researchers would like to report how to synthesize magnetic particles using local natural iron sand. The applied method consisted of three steps, namely chemical ablation, co-precipitation, and hydrothermal method. The results of this research showed that Zn-dopped magnetic particles in Quasi-spherical structures become hollow-microsphere morphological structures even though they had not been perfected yet. The Zn-dopped treatment broadens the frequency wave absorptions and magnetism properties. The Zn-dopped Ion had stronger magnetic properties than that of organic factor effects from C-dot that theoretically can decrease the magnetic properties. This article briefly describes the synthesis mechanism of magnetic material from natural iron sand as material resources to substitute highly expensive mainstream chemical material. However, this study still needs to be deeply investigated to produce the optimum scientific application.

Electric Transport and Dielectric Studies of CoFe2O4-BaFe12O19 Nanocomposite

Electric transport properties of cobalt ferrite and barium ferrite composite were studied in the frequency range of 1 Hz to 1 MHz with temperature varying from 100 to 500 °C. The composite with weight ratio 1:1 (CoFe2O4:BaFe12O19) was synthesized by chemical co-precipitation route. Rietveld refined X-ray diffraction analysis revealed pure phase formation of cobalt ferrite, barium ferrite and the prepared composite. For the prepared composite, dual phase refinement procedure was employed. Average crystallite size of CoFe2O4 and BaFe12O19 was observed as 19 nm and 51 nm respectively. The conduction and polarization mechanism in ferrites was explained on the basis of Maxwell–Wagner theory and Koop’s model which reflects the contribution of grain and grain boundaries present in the specimens. The conductivity analysis confirmed the presence of overlapping large polaron tunneling (OLPT) model for conduction.

One-step chemical bath co-precipitation method to prepare high hydrogen-producing active ZnxCd1-xS solid solution with adjustable band structure

A series of ZnxCd1−xS solid solutions were synthesized through a simple one-step chemical bath co-precipitation route. The microstructure, morphology, composition and optical properties had been thoroughly investigated. The results showed that the as-obtained ZnxCd1−xS samples exhibited monodisperse spherical feature. These monodisperse ZnxCd1−xS spheres were composed of a large number of 5–10 nm crystal grains. The chemical composition of the ZnxCd1−xS solid solutions can be controlled by adjusting the ratio of Zn source to Cd source and the dosage of ammonia solution. Meanwhile, the energy band structure and photocatalytic properties can be optimized. The photocatalysis experiment results revealed that the as-synthesized Zn0.30Cd0.70S sample exhibited optimum water splitting performance. The satisfactory hydrogen evolution rate (HER) of Zn0.30Cd0.70S reached 27.004 mmol g−1 h−1 even without any cocatalysts, which was more than 48 times that of pure CdS (0.561 mmol g−1 h−1). This enhancing effect can owe to the balance between light absorption capacity and redox potential caused by the incorporation of Zn in the ZnxCd1−xS solid solutions.

Physical Properties of Screen-Printed Polycrystalline Cadmium Sulphide Films for Solar Cells

In the present work Cadmium sulphide (CdS) nanopowder was synthesized by chemical coprecipitation route and films were synthesized by non-vacuum based and cost feasible screen-coating route. Most favorable conditions for synthesis of good quality screen-coating films were obtained. Deposited CdS films were investigated by XRD, FESEM, EDAX, UV-vis and two probes methods for microstructural, morphological, elemental, optical and electrical properties. The XRD studies reveals that the films have polycrystalline nature showing hexagonal structure with preferred orientation of grains along (002) plane for powder & (101) plane for CdS film. The morphological analysis showed the films are homogeneous with nearly spherical clusters. Elemental analysis confirmed the existence of Cd and S elements in the films with Cd/S ratio is 0.74. The optical properties of the films were investigated through absorbance & transmittance measurement. The optical direct band gap value was found to be 2.34 eV. The electrical studies revealed the semiconducting nature of CdS films with electrical resistivity in the order of 105 Ωcm and activation energy 0.4 eV.

Ultraviolet light induced dye degradation of methylene blue in the presence of photocatalytic CdSe and ZnSe nanoparticles

• Nanoparticles of cadmium selenide (CdSe) and zinc selenide (ZnSe) have been synthesized by chemical co-precipitation and hydrothermal route using mercaptoethanol and hydrazine hydrate as a capping agent and reducing agent. • As synthesized ZnSe nanoparticles shows higher methylene blue (MB) dye degradation under UV light irradiation compared to CdSe nanoparticles. • The kinetic study of the degradation process with both the samples (CdSe and ZnSe) showed to obey pseudo-first order kinetics. Nanoparticles of cadmium selenide (CdSe) and zinc selenide (ZnSe) have been successfully synthesized by chemical co-precipitation and hydrothermal method. Mercaptoethanol (C 2 H 6 OS), and hydrazine hydrate (N 2 H 4 ) were used as a capping agent to control the size of the nanoparticles (NPs). The structural, UV-optical, morphological studies have been characterized with the help of PXRD, UV, FT-IR, Micro-Raman, HR-TEM and EDAX studies. PXRD is used to calculate the average particle size are found to be ∼1–2 nm for CdSe and ∼16 nm for ZnSe nanoparticles, which have zinc blende phase having cubic structure. HR-TEM images showed that both the samples were agglomerated in spherical shape. Moreover, the presence of functional groups and longitudinal phonon mode were studied by FT-IR and Raman spectral analyzer. Additionally, the optical band gap (E g ) values of CdSe and ZnSe NPs were investigated with the help of UV–Visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy found to be ∼2.1 eV and ∼2.6 eV, respectively. Further, photocatalytic dye degradation of methylene blue (MB) measured by mixtures of CdSe and ZnSe NPs under 8 W Argon lamp of UV-light irradiation.

Emergence of large exchange anisotropy in Pr doped nanocrystalline spinel ferrites

This paper reports the influence of rare earth Pr3+ doping on microstructural and magnetic properties in soft nickel nanoferrites. All the samples were prepared by soft chemical co-precipitation route with the generic formula NiPrxFe2-xO4 (x = 0.00, 0.04, 0.08 and 0.12). The prepared nanoparticles were single-phase as verified by x-ray diffractograms. Mean crystallite sizes of all the samples were found in the range of 4 nm–15 nm from the Williamson-Hall plot. Raman spectra signalled the lowering of crystal symmetry of octahedral co-ordinated sites due to the doping of large size Pr3+ ions. Field cooled M(H) loops registered at 5 K detected the existence of significant exchange bias field and large coercivity in the samples. The superparamagnetic behavior of prepared nanoferrites at room temperature became more prominent for higher Pr concentration as confirmed by both hysteresis loops and M(T) curves.

Structural and dielectric properties of cobalt ferrite based nanocomposites

Nanocomposites of cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) were synthesized using chemical co-precipitation route. For preparing the nanocomposites, cobalt ferrite was combined with strontium ferrite (C/S-1/1) and with barium ferrite (C/B-1/1) in equal weight ratio of 1:1. Dual phase Rietveld refinement procedure was employed for phase analysis of the specimens. Electrical transport properties were investigated within frequency scale 20 Hz–106 Hz at different temperatures ranging from 100 °C to 400 °C. Dielectric permittivity of the composites was found to increase with temperature. Polarization mechanism was attributed to Koop's theory due to the presence of conductive and non-conductive part in ferrite composites. The ac conductivity mechanism in the composites was ascribed to Maxwell-Wagner model. With increase in temperature, C/S-1/1 depicts greater conductivity compared to C/B-1/1.

Insights on improved room temperature ferromagnetism in chemically co-precipitated Ru-doped ZnS nanopowders

In this paper, we have reported the room temperature weak ferromagnetism in Ruthenium (Ru)-doped ZnS nanopowders (Zn1-xRuxS; x = 0.00, 0.02, 0.04 and 0.06) prepared using chemical co-precipitation route. Powder x-ray diffraction (XRD) divulges that pure as well as Ru-doped ZnS (Zn1-xRuxS) nanopowders exhibit cubic structure. Photoluminescence (PL) measurements depict the presence of defects in chemically co-precipitated Zn1-xRuxS nanopowders. Replacement of host Zn atoms with Ru is confirmed by X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Ru L3-edge XANES spectral changes clearly depict the charge transfer from S 2p state to Ru 4d state. Weak ferromagnetism is shown by pure ZnS nanopowders at room temperature. Ru doping in ZnS enhances the weak ferromagnetic ordering with magnetic moment nearly three times in comparison to pure ZnS at room temperature. Ru doping leads to metallic nature which further favors RKKY (Ruderman–Kittel–Kasuya–Yosida) exchange interaction for ferromagnetism.

Induction Heating Analysis of Surface-Functionalized Nanoscale CoFe2O4 for Magnetic Fluid Hyperthermia toward Noninvasive Cancer Treatment.

Oleic acid-coated cobalt ferrite nanoparticles were synthesized using the chemical co-precipitation route and characterized by standard techniques for structure, morphology, and magnetic properties analysis. The Rietveld refined X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern of CoFe2O4 nanoparticles indicated the formation of a cubic-spinel single-phase structure with the Fd3̅m space group. The average crystallite size (∼12 nm) confirmed the nanocrystalline appearance of the prepared CoFe2O4 nanoparticles. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images revealed the spherical nature of both (CoFe2O4) and (OA-CoFe2O4) samples. The absorption bands in the Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrum at ∼3418, 3026, 1628, 1404, 1068, 845, 544, and 363 cm–1 affirmed the spinel ferrite formation and OA attachment. The M–H curve recorded at room temperature showed the superparamagnetic nature of the CoFe2O4 nanoparticles with moderate saturation magnetization (∼78 emu/gm). The blocking temperature of the prepared CoFe2O4 nanoparticles obtained from the field-cooled and zero-field-cooled (FC–ZFC) curve was estimated to be 144 K. Further, the characterized surface-modified CoFe2O4 was then added in ethylene glycol/water with various concentrations and characterized by the induction heating technique for the evaluation of their self-heating characteristics. A series of temperature versus time measurements were made by varying the ethylene glycol/water proportion for better understanding of the self-heating characteristics of the prepared CoFe2O4 nanoparticles. All of the findings display the applicability of the surface-modified CoFe2O4 nanoparticles in magnetic fluid hyperthermia toward noninvasive cancer treatment and other bio-applications.

Comprehensive study on structural, electrical, magnetic and photocatalytic degradation properties of Al3+ ions substituted nickel ferrites nanoparticles

A series of Al3+ substituted NiAlxFe2-xO4 (0.0 = x ≤ 0.5) nanoparticles was synthesized using the chemical co-precipitation route. The effect of Al3+ ions doping was investigated in terms of structural, degradation, magnetic and electrical properties of the nanoparticles (NPs). The XRD patterns confirmed the formation of the spinel cubic phase. FT-IR spectra revealedtwo consistent absorption bands indicating the intrinsic stretching vibrations of O2- Fe3+ around 591-615 cm−1 and 416-428 cm−1 bond lengths for tetrahedral and octahedral sites respectively. The magnetic properties decrease as the concentration of Al3+ increases. The decrease of magnetic parameters can be explained by the difference between magnetic moments of Al3+ and Fe3+ cations. Maxwell-Wagner model of space charge polarization was utilized to explain the dielectric properties with frequency. The increasing dielectric losses indicated the suitability of synthesized NPs for microwave absorption, telecommunication, electronics and other high frequency applications. The dependence of dielectric properties on grains and grain boundaries was further investigated via impedance spectroscopy and complex electric modulus. The study of photo-degradation efficiency of NPs was performed using organic methylene blue dye. The results showed satisfactory degradation with maximum degradation efficiency of 84.45% for NPs with composition NiAl0·5Fe1·5O4.

Synthesis and cyclic voltammetry of CrFe2O4/(MWCNTs)x nanohybrids

The chemical co-precipitation route was opted for the synthesis of chromium ferrite (CrFe2O4) nanoparticles and the pristine multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were used for the preparation of desired CrFe2O4/(MWCNTs)x; x = 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 wt% nanohybrids using the ultra-sonication method. Toluene was used for the first time as dispersive medium for the preparation of these nanohybrids. The crystalline structure, morphology, vibrational modes, and electrochemical performance of these nanohybrids were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and cyclic voltammetry. The structural properties of pristine MWCNTs, CrFe2O4 nanoparticles, and CrFe2O4/(MWCNTs)x nanohybrids are evaluated by XRD and Raman spectroscopy. The SEM images presented the attachment of CrFe2O4 nanoparticles on the surface of MWCNTs. The specific capacitance was decreased with increasing number of cycles, while it was observed to be increased with increasing MWCNTs content. From EIS, the decrease in charge transfer resistance was observed with the increased loadings of MWCNTs, which showed the enhanced electrochemical behavior of these nanohybrids. Therefore, the significant improvement in electrochemical properties showed that these nanohybrids can be promising candidates for energy storage devices like lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries.

Improved Electrical Properties Displayed by Mg2+-Substituted Cobalt Ferrite Nano Particles, Prepared Via Co-precipitation Route

In this reported study, magnesium-substituted cobalt ferrite nanoparticles (Co1−xMgxFe2O4, x = 0.0, 0.20, 0.35, 0.50) have been investigated. The samples were prepared via a wet chemical co-precipitation route and were calcinated at 800 °C for 6 h. The structural, electrical, and dielectric properties of these samples were studied using XRD, SEM, FTIR, impedance analyzer, and LCR meter. The XRD diffractograms established the development of FCC spinel arrangement with decreasing crystallite size from 20 to 30 nm without any additional impurity peak confirming the purity of the samples synthesized. The FTIR spectra established the existence of tetrahedral (A) and octahedral (B) lattice sites in the structural arrangement. The SEM images showed uniform nano-spherical particle formation with minimum porosity. No extra phase or impurity was found, confirming the effectiveness of the co-precipitation route. The dielectric properties of the synthesized samples measured at ambiance temperature against frequency range of 103 Hz to 5 MHz showed massive enhancement of dielectric constant (on the order of 104 at 100 Hz) which was comparable to traditional ceramics (having a dielectric constant in the range of 104–106), which are often rendered suitable for capacitor applications. Furthermore, the low values of dielectric loss tangent at high frequencies verified its potential usage in microwave applications. A significant contribution of both long- and short-range order in hopping as well as an increase in grain boundary density was confirmed by complex electric modulus analysis. The DC electrical resistivity measurement against increasing temperatures was done, showing a typical decreasing trend with increasing temperature, validating the semiconductor nature of synthesized nanoparticles with varying compositions. The drift mobility was further calculated from the DC resistivity data.

Facile Synthesis of Ce1-xFexO2/NiO/rGO Ternary Hybrid Heterostructures with Enhanced Visible Light mediated Photocatalytic Activity for Waterborne Pollutants

In this article, we reported the two-step wet chemical co-precipitation and ultra-sonication route to synthesize the Ce0.95Fe0.05O2/NiO/rGO (CFN-rGO) ternary composite photocatalyst. The photocatalytic activity of the ternary composite was evaluated by the photodegradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) dye under visible light irradiation. The CFN-rGO photocatalyst exhibited an excellent photocatalytic performance with 97% removal of RhB within 130 min of irradiation time, as compared to the bare Ce0.95Fe0.05O2/NiO (CFN) binary composite photocatalyst. The value of rate constant for RhB degradation was nine times higher with CFN-rGO when compared to the pure CFN catalyst. The superior photocatalytic activity of CFN-rGO is attributed to the presence of reduced graphene oxide (rGO), that effectively suppress the fast recombination of photo-generated electron-hole pairs which in turn find enough time to produce more reactive species for RhB dye degradation. The main photo-active species involved in photodegradation of RhB dye molecules were the hydroxyl radicals (HO•). Finally, the recyclability tests performed over CFN-rGO suggested good stability of the photocatalyst even after five cycles and hence, endorsing its potential as a candidate for practical photocatalytic applications.

Synthesis of biotin caped Mn2+ activated ZnS quantum dots with their structural stability and modulation of opto-electronic properties

Mn2+ activated ZnS (ZnS:Mn2+) nanoparticles biotin matrix have been synthesized by chemical co-precipitation route. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results confirmed single phase zinc blend structure with crystallite sizes ranging from 1.5 to 1.9 nm. The small particle sizes are believed to have single domain crystallites because of quantum confinement of particles in the biotin matrix. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis shows smooth and polygon shape potato like morphology having cluster size varying from 77μm to 182μm. Optical measurement shows the band gap of 3.85 eV which has been blue shifted and is accredit to the quantum size effect. The particle size estimated for this gap is to be 2.03 nm and is good agreement with sizes obtained from XRD. The luminescence feature of the as synthesized sample was also reported. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra shows two wide peaks centred at 408 nm and 520 nm respectively. The first emission at 408 nm with short time is attributed to the defects of ZnS while another peak at 520 nm attributed in green emission due to the elemental sulphur species on the surface of zinc sulphide. The both emissions are blue shifted and are attributed to the small particle sizes. The well known manganese related orange-red emission peak cantered at 590 nm has not been observed and is completely quenched that confirmed that the Mn2+ ions have been allocated outside the ZnS crystals. A new emission at 338 nm appears to have radiative transitions from the defect level to the acceptor levels. Thus, by using suitable activator and capping molecule, we are able to stabilize the growth of nanoparticles at room temperature, thereby enhance the structural and opto-electronic properties.

Interfacial spin coupling and exchange anisotropy in core–shell MnFe2O4/α-Fe2O3 nanocomposites

Core–shell MnFe2O4/α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles having core diameters from 5 nm to 28 nm are synthesized by chemical co-precipitation route and investigated structurally and magnetically. The existence of the cubic spinel phase of MnFe2O4 (FiM) core together with the rhombohedral phase of α-Fe2O3 (AFM) shell was confirmed by X-ray diffraction. The field-cooled hysteresis loop at 5 K reveals a strong exchange bias of 1.1 kOe along with a high coercivity of 4.81 kOe and vertical shift of 1.83% for the particles with the smallest core diameters. The exchange-bias (HE) and coercive (HC) fields decrease with increasing core diameter. Exchange-spring behavior was also observed in the hysteresis loops in all nanocomposite systems at 5 K due to the presence of the magnetically hard (α-Fe2O3) and soft (MnFe2O4) phases. The superparamagnetic limit shifted above room temperature even for the sample having core diameter of 5 nm due to the presence of strong interfacial spins coupling, and this coupling was also seen in the hysteresis loops obtained at room temperature.

Modulation of photoluminescence in Mg and Cu caged ZnO nanocrystals

We synthesized Mg and Cu caged ZnO nanoparticles by considering polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), Poly vinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and biotin (BT) as organic stablizer by chemical co-precipitation route at room temperature. All the synthesized materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), showed good crystallinity at low dimension with stabilized crystallite size. No uneanted phase formation was detected. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images of crystallite planes of PVP caped Mg doped ZnO and PVA caped Cu doped ZnO suggesting that the prepared particles are mostly multi-domain crystallites. The average particles diameter in the case of PVP caped Mg doped ZnO and PVA caped Cu doped ZnO are around 50 nm and 38 nm respectively. The particle sizes are controlled by using different capping agents PVA, PVP and biotin. Photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) shows another green wider emission band from 450 nm to 650 nm in the visible spectral range, apart from UV band, which has been frequently assigned to several intrinsic and extrinsic defects. The band gap of the doped ZnO nanoparticles was estimated from the UV-Vis absorption spectra. The energy gap estimated for all samples are found to be decreases due to the effect of the dopant, in comparison to the energy gap of bulk ZnO (3.37 eV). Raman spectra show several peaks characteristic to the defects of oxygen vacancies, Zn interstitials and vibrational modes in ZnO.

Fabrication of NiCo2O4 nanobelt by a chemical co-precipitation method for non-enzymatic glucose electrochemical sensor application

Abstract The porous NiCo2O4 nanobelt arrays on nickel foam has been fabricated through a chemical co-precipitation route. Due to this porous NiCo2O4 nanobelt nanostructure, this electro/ion efficiency transfer between electrode and electrolyte during the electrochemical reaction process. The electrochemical detection of glucose is investigated by cyclic voltammetry and single-potential amperometry measurement in a three-electrode system. The porous NiCo2O4 nanobelt arrays on nickel foam sensor exhibits high sensitivity (5000 μA mM−1 cm−2) in a wide range (0.9–67.2 μM) and 727 μA mM−1 cm−2 in the linear range (0.067–1.373 mM). This porous NiCo2O4 nanobelt sensor exhibits a low limit of detection of 0.9 μM and a fast sensing performance of 4 s. The excellent electrochemical performances originate from the improved electronic conductivity as well as rich redox reaction sites of the sensor material surface. Our results indicate that the porous NiCo2O4 nanobelt arrays on nickel foam is a great potential sensor for non-enzyme glucose detection.

Ce3+-doped nanocrystalline cobalt–zinc spinel ferrite: microstructural, magnetic, and optical characterizations

A series of Ce3+ ions-doped cobalt–zinc spinel cubic ferrite nanoparticles with the general formula Co0.5Zn0.5CexFe2–xO4 (x = 0.00, 0.03, 0.06 and 0.09) were synthesized using soft chemical co-precipitation route. The synthesized nanoferrites were in single-phase as ensured by the X-ray diffractograms. Average crystallite sizes were 16 nm, 12 nm, 10 nm, and 07 nm with increasing Ce content as determined using Scherrer’s formula. A significant enhancement in coercivity (HC) and decrement in saturation magnetization (MS) was observed in field-cooled (9 T) low-temperature (3 K) hysteresis loops with increasing Ce content. A correlation between the mean crystallite size of the synthesized nanoparticles and disordered surface spins has been established. The increment in Ce3+ ions substitution also favored the onset of superparamagnetic behavior as confirmed by the room temperature hysteresis loops. The blocking temperature was reduced with the increase of Ce3+ ions content which makes the nanoparticles a suitable candidate for various biomedical applications. The indirect optical bandgaps were observed to increase gradually with the increasing Ce content due to the nanosize effect.

Spinel Cobalt Ferrite Nanoparticles for Sensing Phosphate Ions in Aqueous Media and Biological Samples.

Phosphate ions perform a variety of functions in metabolic processes and are essential for all living organisms. The determination of the concentration of phosphate ions is useful in clinical diagnosis of various diseases as an inadequate phosphate level could lead to many health problems. In the search for a cost-effective method of fast monitoring, we investigated the use of cobalt ferrite nanoparticles (CoFeNPs) in the selective recognition of phosphate ions dissolved in aqueous media and more complex samples, such as human blood serum. We prepared these NPs by a chemical coprecipitation route and subjected them to annealing at 600 °C for 1 h. The successful formation of the NPs was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and hysteresis loop measurements. The NPs exhibited a ferrimagnetic behavior, a spinel-type crystalline structure, and hexagonal shape in the nanoscale range. We demonstrated that CoFeNPs containing immobilized fluorescent-labeled single-chain DNA (ssDNA*) probes can be applied for the fast selective detection of phosphate ions dissolved in a liquid medium. We have explored the fact that phosphate groups can displace ssDNA* probes attached to the nanoparticles, therefore causing a perceptible change in the fluorescence signal of the supernatant liquid. This detection method has been tested for the sensing of phosphate ions present both in aqueous solutions and in biological samples, with excellent selectivity and a low limit of detection (∼1.75 nM).

A facile low-temperature synthesis of nanosheets assembled PbS microflowers and their structural, morphological, optical, photoluminescence, dielectric and electrical studies

In current article we report a simple one pot synthesis of lead sulfide (PbS) microflowers (MFs) assembled with nanosheets at low temperature by chemical co-precipitation route. SEM study confirm the low dimension NFs morphology of final product. Furthermore, MFs were subjected to structural, vibrational, diffused reflectance, photoluminescence and impedance spectroscopy measurements. Structural and vibrational studies proved the development of single phase highly crystalline PbS MFs. The respective average crystallite size, lattice strain and dislocation density was ∼9.950 nm, 0.011 (1/nm2) and 0.003. Direct and indirect energy gaps were determined through Kubelka-Munk method ∼0.71 eV and 0.56 eV, respectively, which are superior than bulk (i.e. 0.41 eV). There is clear enrichment in energy gap of MFs which signify the existence of confinement effect. PL emission shows an intense violet emission bands at ∼386 nm and 407 nm. Dielectric constant, loss and ac electrical conductivity were studied at higher frequencies at different bias voltages and discussed. Obtained results presents a new insight on PbS for optoelectronic device applications.