Lead(II) selenide

Lead selenide (PbSe), or lead(II) selenide, a selenide of lead, is a semiconductor material. It forms cubic crystals of the NaCl structure; it has a direct bandgap of 0.27 eV at room temperature. (Note that^[1] incorrectly identifies PbSe and other IV-VI semiconductors as indirect gap materials.) It is a grey crystalline solid material.

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It is used for manufacture of infrared detectors for thermal imaging, operating at wavelengths between 1.5-5.2 µm. It does not require cooling, but performs better at lower temperatures. The peak sensitivity depends on temperature and varies between 4-4.7 µm.^{[citation needed]}

Single crystal nanorods and polycrystalline nanotubes of lead selenide were synthesized via controlled organism membranes. The diameter of the nanorods is approx. 45 nm and their length is up to 1100 nm, for nanotubes the diameter is 50 nm and the length up to 2000 nm. [1]

Lead selenide nanocrystals embedded into various materials can be used as quantum dots, for example in nanocrystal solar cells.

The mineral clausthalite is a naturally occurring lead selenide.

See also

• Lead sulfide
• Lead telluride

References

• An emission band-system of PbSe, R.F. Barrow and E.E. Vago, Proc. Phys. Soc. London vol. 56 pp. 76 (1944)