X-ray study reveals how lead sulphide particles self-organise in real time

The structure adopted by lead sulfide nanoparticles changes surprisingly often as they assemble to form ordered superlattices. This is revealed by an experimental study that has been conducted at DESY's X-ray source PETRA III. A team led by the DESY scientists Irina Lokteva and Felix Lehmkühler, from the Coherent X-ray Scattering group headed by Gerhard Grübel, has observed the self-organization of these semiconductor nanoparticles in real time. The results have been published in the journal Chemistry of Materials. The study helps to better understand the self-assembly of nanoparticles, which can lead to significantly different structures.