Lead sulfide nanoparticles were synthesized at room temperature via a simple chemical reaction. In this synthesis, 2-mercaptoethanolwas used as the capping agent and sodium sulfide was used as a sulfur source. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy Electron microscopy study showed that without using a capping agent the bulk PbS is obtained, while adding the mercaptoethanol leads to production of nanoparticles. We found that the electronic absorption spectra as well as the particle sizes depend on the used capping agents. Two exitonic peaks with a large blue shift were observed when mercaptoethanol was used.
