PbS nanostructures: A review of recent advances

The primary motivation behind efforts to understand the properties of lead sulfide (PbS) is its technological importance as the foundation of modern semiconductor optoelectronics. PbS nanocrystals (NCs) show remarkable versatility and promise for application in both conventional optical devices and the new generation of nano-electronics and nano-optoelectronics because of their particular structure and size-related properties. Although PbS NCs have been the subject of intense fundamental and applied studies, no comprehensive evaluation of the published data has been documented so far. Undoubtedly, providing an overview of the published research will help further development in PbS-related research and will certainly make it a step forward in the application. Therefore, this review paper discusses the preparation, structural, electronic and optical properties of PbS NCs in light of recent progress in nanotechnology. We first survey the fundamental properties of PbS NCs and then mainly focus on size-dependent properties. In this regard, the recent breakthrough in tuning the properties of PbS NCs employing doping, ligands, capping and hybridizing with different materials, and interaction with embedded media has been particularly discussed. The review concludes with the enhanced performance of the PbS NCs towards future optoelectronic devices and biological and chemical applications.