Sonochemical synthesis and loading of PbS nanoparticles into mesoporous silica

Abstract

A sonochemical method was used for simultaneous synthesis and loading of lead sulfide (PbS) nanoparticles into mesoporous SBA-15 (Santa Barbara Amorphous). In this study, the effect of different loading ratios (30, 45, 60, 75%) on morphology, crystalline structure and physicochemical characteristics of PbS-SBA-15_samples was investigated. TEM images showed that the PbS nanoparticles were highly dispersed inside the SBA-15 pores for all tested loadings, however especially 60 and 75%-PbS-SBA15_samples exhibited significant surface aggregation of PbS on SBA-15 surface. Also, PbS-SBA15_samples showed a strong UV light absorption at about 290-310 nm with increasing band gap energies, which is indicative of quantization effects