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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 February 2011
Lead sulphide nanoparticles were prepared by colloidal techniques and subsequently deposited onto glass slides as uniform, dry films. In so doing, the effective bandgap of the semiconductor was increased from that of the bulk material by the quantum size effect. By varying the growth conditions, it was possible to change the mean particle size from 3nm to 7nm. This size variation was accompanied by (i) a variation in the absorption band onset of the material from 0.7μm to 1.3μm and (ii) a change in its colour from red to greyish-brown. No excitonic features were observed. TEM showed that the shape of the particles, as well as their size, was dependent on the growth conditions. Cubic and rod-like particles were grown in aqueous solution. Spherical particles preferable for optoelectronic devices were grown in methanolic/aqueous and aqueous solutions. However, these spherical particles were not as reproducible as the cubic ones.