Sonochemical-assisted synthesis of nano-structured lead dioxide

PbO2 nano-powder was synthesized by the ultrasonic irradiation of an aqueous suspension of dispersed β-PbO, as precursor, in the presence of ammonium peroxydisulfate as an oxidant. The reaction rate increased with an increase in temperature and ammonium peroxydisulfate concentration. In the presence of ammonium peroxydisulfate, the increased concentration of hydroxyl radical facilitated the oxidation of β-PbO to PbO2 under ultrasonic irradiation. The PbO2 nano-powder was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). It was found that the applied ultrasonic wave determines the particle size. PbO2 samples prepared under optimized experimental conditions have lead dioxide particles in the range of 50–100 nm, as shown by SEM. The XRD results reveal that only β-PbO2 is formed under optimum conditions. When the reaction mixture was stirred instead of ultrasonically irradiated, only a fraction of the lead oxide was converted to lead dioxide, and lead sulfate was the main reaction product.