Autonomous interfacial creation of nanostructured lead oxide

Abstract

We first established a process for the autonomous creation of PbO nanostructures consisting of a simple three-step procedure for both the formation of Pb nanoparticles and their oxidation. Oxygen contacting aqueous media results in an autonomous conversion from electrodeposited Pb particles to PbO nanostructures; i) flower-like PbO structures are placed at the interface of water and oxygen, ii) the growth/burst of PbO nanowires in various directions is observed in the middle of water media, and iii) ultra-thin PbO nano-platelets are dominantly placed onto the substrate. A new mechanistic origin was also proposed based on experimental observations and further suggests that major requirements are essential for the autonomous creation of PbO nanostructures.