A novel heterometallic compound for design and study of electrical properties of silver nanoparticles-decorated lead compounds

A new heterometallic compound AgPb(C2O4)(NO3) (AgPb-1) was constructed for the first time using a precipitation reaction. Then, different silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs)-decorated lead compounds were obtained from AgPb-1 via thermal annealing at different temperatures. The compounds Ag center dot PbCO3 (AgPb-2), Ag center dot alpha-PbO (AgPb-3), Ag center dot alpha-PbO + beta-PbO (AgPb-4) and Ag center dot beta-PbO (AgPb-5) were obtained by annealing at 523 K, 623 K, 723 K and 873 K, respectively. The formed powders were investigated using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The dispersion of Ag-NPs on the surface of lead compounds as decorated layers was proven by SEM and TEM micrographs. The electrical conductivity and dielectric constant of the precursor in the temperature range of 293-673 K were investigated. Furthermore, the electrical behaviours of the different phases are described.