PbS nanopowder – synthesis, characterization and antimicrobial activity

Abstract Lead sulphide (PbS) nanopowder was synthesized by a simple soft chemical route using lead nitrate and thiourea as precursor salts. The as-synthesized nanopowder was characterized by XRD, SEM, EDX, FT-IR, PL, Raman and magnetic measurements. XRD studies reveal the polycrystalline nature of the powder. The powder exhibits face-centered cubic structure with a strong (2 0 0) preferential orientation. The presence of Pb and S in the powder is confirmed by energy dispersive X-ray analysis. The peaks observed at 1112 cm-1 and at 606 cm-1 in the FT-IR spectrum are related to heteropolar diatomic molecules of PbS. The Raman peak shift at 173 cm-1 might have originated from the combination of longitudinal and transverse acoustic phonon modes associated with PbS crystal. The M-H loop confirms the paramagnetic nature of the as-synthesized PbS nanopowder. The nanopowder has significant antimicrobial activity against certain bacteria and fungi strains which make it suitable as antimicrobial agent against pathogenic microorganisms.