Nicoara, Adrian IonutEftimie, MihaiMihail, ElisaVasiliu, Ileana CristinaBartha, CristinaEnculescu, MonicaFilipescu, MihaelaElosúa Aguado, CésarLópez Torres, DiegoSava, Bogdan AlexandruOane, Mihai2022-12-202022-12-202022Nicoara, A. I., Eftimie, M., Elisa, M., Vasiliu, I. C., Bartha, C., Enculescu, M., Filipescu, M., Aguado, C. E., Lopez, D., Sava, B. A., & Oane, M. (2022). Nanostructured PbS-Doped Inorganic Film Synthesized by Sol-Gel Route. Nanomaterials, 12(17), 3006. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12173006.2079-499110.3390/nano12173006https://academica-e.unavarra.es/handle/2454/44489IV-VI semiconductor quantum dots embedded into an inorganic matrix represent nanostructured composite materials with potential application in temperature sensor systems. This study explores the optical, structural, and morphological properties of a novel PbS quantum dots (QDs)- doped inorganic thin film belonging to the Al2O3 -SiO2 -P2O5 system. The film was synthesized by the sol-gel method, spin coating technique, starting from a precursor solution deposited on a glass substrate in a multilayer process, followed by drying of each deposited layer. Crystalline PbS QDs embedded in the inorganic vitreous host matrix formed a nanocomposite material. Specific investigations such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical absorbance in the ultraviolet (UV)-visible (Vis)-near infrared (NIR) domain, NIR luminescence, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy– energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to obtain a comprehensive characterization of the deposited film. The dimensions of the PbS nanocrystallite phase were corroborated by XRD, SEM-EDX, and AFM results. The luminescence band from 1400 nm follows the luminescence peak of the precursor solution and that of the dopant solution. The emission of the PbS-doped film in the NIR domain is a premise for potential application in temperature sensing systems.application/pdfeng© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.Alumino-silico-phosphate glassComposite materialLead sulfideOptical propertiesQuantum confinementQuantum dotsSol-gel methodinfo:eu-repo/semantics/article2022-12-20info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess