Lead(II) sulfide (also spelled sulphide) is an inorganic compound with the formulation PbS. Galena is the principal ore and the most important compound of lead. It is a semiconducting materials with niche makes use of. Addition of hydrogen sulfide or sulfide salts to a solution containing a lead salt, corresponding to PbCl2, gives a black precipitate of lead sulfide. This reaction is used in qualitative inorganic analysis. Just like the related materials PbSe and PbTe, PbS is a semiconductor. In fact, lead sulfide was one of many earliest materials to be used as a semiconductor. Lead sulfide crystallizes in the sodium chloride motif, in contrast to many other IV-VI semiconductors. Since PbS is the main ore of lead, a lot effort has centered on its conversion. A significant course of entails smelting of PbS adopted by discount of the ensuing oxide. The sulfur dioxide is transformed to sulfuric acid. Lead sulfide-containing nanoparticle and quantum dots have been properly studied. Traditionally, such materials are produced by combining lead salts with a wide range of sulfide sources.

In 2009, PbS nanoparticles have been examined to be used in photo voltaic cells. PbS was one among the first supplies used for electrical diodes that might detect electromagnetic radiation, together with infrared mild. As an infrared sensor, PbS directly detects gentle, as opposed to thermal detectors, which reply to a change in detector element temperature brought on by the radiation. A PbS ingredient can be used to measure radiation in both of two ways: by measuring the tiny photocurrent the photons cause when they hit the PbS material, or by measuring the change in the material's electrical resistance that the photons cause. Measuring the resistance change is the extra generally used technique. At room temperature, PbS is sensitive to radiation at wavelengths between approximately 1 and 2.5 Step Formula Review μm. This range corresponds to the shorter wavelengths in the infra-crimson portion of the spectrum, the so-referred to as brief-wavelength infrared (SWIR). Only highly regarded objects emit radiation in these wavelengths.

Cooling the PbS elements, for example using liquid nitrogen or a Peltier aspect proven affiliate system, shifts its sensitivity vary to between roughly 2 and 4 μm. Objects that emit radiation in these wavelengths still should be fairly hot-a number of hundred levels Celsius-but not as hot as these detectable by uncooled sensors. Venus are coated with a shiny substance. Although the composition of this coat is not fully sure, one idea is that Venus "snows" crystallized lead sulfide a lot as Earth snows frozen water. If this is the case, it could be the first time the substance was recognized on a foreign planet. Different less probably candidates for Venus' "snow" are bismuth sulfide and tellurium. Lead(II) sulfide is so insoluble that it is almost nontoxic, but pyrolysis of the material, as in smelting, offers dangerous toxic fumes of lead and oxides of sulfur. Lead sulfide is insoluble and a stable compound within the pH of blood and so is probably one of the much less toxic forms of lead.

A large security risk occurs within the synthesis of PbS using lead carboxylates, as they're notably soluble and may cause detrimental physiological situations. Linke, W. (1965). Solubilities. Inorganic and Steel-Organic Compounds. Vol. 2. Washington, D.C.: 5 Step Formula Review American Chemical Society. Ronald Eisler (2000). Handbook of Chemical Threat Assessment. Vaughan, D. J.