Interfacial synthesis of pyramidal lead sulfide crystallites with high energy {331} facets.

Single crystals of PbS in the form pyramids with a high proportion of high energy {331} faces are obtained by the use of a novel reaction technique at the interface of water and toluene. The pyramids spontaneously form a monolayer spread across the entire water-toluene interface. The influence of deposition parameters such as temperature, solution concentration, reaction time on the nature and properties of interfacial films are studied. In addition, the effect of solvo-static parameters such as column height and interfacial area are investigated. The obtained films are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM).