Sonochemical synthesis of nanocrystalline copper tellurides Cu7Te4 and Cu4Te3 at room temperature

In this paper, we report st simple and clean method of producing nanocrystalline copper tellurides in an organic solvent system by high-intensity ultrasonic irradiation at room temperature. Cu4Te3 is prepared in a pure ethylenediamine system and Cu7Te4 is prepared in ethylenediamine with hydrazine hydrate. The products are characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS). Ultrasonic irradiation and the solvents are both important in the formation of products. The formation mechanism of the nanocrystalline tellurides under high-intensity ultrasonic irradiation is also discussed.