Coating of TiO2 nanoparticles with PbS thin films and preparation of PbS nanoparticles using a one-pot sonochemical reaction under the multibubble sonoluminescence conditions

Preparations of PbS-coated titanium dioxide (TiO₂) and lead sulfide (PbS) nanoparticles under ultrasonic field at the multibubble sonoluminescence (MBSL) conditions were tested in water solutions. Under the optimal MBSL conditions (20 kHz and 220 W power input), PbS nanoparticles (diameter = 40-50 nm) were prepared by treating lead nitrate and thioacetamide for 20 min in water solutions. The size of PbS nanoparticles was found to be easily increased to about 90 nm in diameter by increasing the reactant concentration twice. A similar sonochemical reaction with TiO₂ nanoparticles (about 20-30 nm in diameter) gave rise to PbS-coated TiO₂ nanoparticles with a core/shell structure. The PbS thin film coating was quite uniform and the average coating depth of PbS on the TiO₂ nanoparticles was about 2-3 nm under the described conditions. It is interesting to note that the coating depth was found to be controlled to 2-10 nm range by increasing the amounts of reactants for Pb and S twice with a sonication time of 30 min.