Nanostructured hydrocerussite compound (Pb3(CO3)2(OH)2) prepared by laser ablation technique in liquid environment

This article presents a chemical bottom-up synthesis of highly crystalline and nanostructured hydrocerussite (Pb3(CO3)2(OH)2) with hexagonal morphology prepared by laser ablation in liquid. The results demonstrate that is possible to use laser ablation in liquid to prepare complex chemical compounds. The experiment consisted of a high power second harmonic of an Nd:YAG laser incidence on the surface of a Pb target immersed in primary alcohols. Three different values of fluency and four different primary alcohols were used in order to investigate the influence of fluency delivered to the target surface and the chemical composition of the liquid environment on the properties of the prepared materials. Crystalline and nanostructured hexagonal particles of hydrocerussite, with average widths of 1.0 ± 0.3 μm and average thickness of 80 ± 20 nm, were obtained when laser ablation was done in methanol and ethanol whereas hydrocerussite and metallic lead were obtained when 1-propanol or 1-butanol were used. Additionally, it was shown that the values of the laser fluency used in this study do not modify the sample morphology and composition. In order to explain the observed results a photochemical reaction model induced by laser ablation of a metallic Pb surface immersed in alcohol solution is presented.