Vacuum-evaporated PbS: 0.03 Zn thin films with varying thicknesses for environmental applications

In this research, we explore how the thickness of PbS-doped Zn thin films made through thermal vacuum evaporation affects their physical properties for environmental applications. Our x-ray diffraction (XRD) examination shows that the films consist of pure crystalline cubic PbS phase. Additionally, the energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscope (EDXS) provides confirmation that the synthesized products are of high purity. PbS films doped with Zn have spherical nanocrystals ranging from 130 nm to 250 nm in size, as observed through field emission (FE)-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) analysis. The thickness of the film layer was found to correlate significantly with an increase in crystallite size and grain size, as validated by both XRD and FE-SEM analyses. The optical energy gap (Eg) of the thin films under examination exhibited variations in relation to their respective thickness. Bandgap energy was found to …