Effects of Various Reductants and Surfactants on the Nanostructure of Bi2Te3 Synthesized by a Hydrothermal Process

Various reductants and surfactants were used to investigate their effects on the structure of Bi2Te3 nanopowders prepared via hydrothermal synthesis at 150A degrees C for 24 h. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) were applied to analyze the phase distributions, microstructures, and grain sizes of the as-grown Bi2Te3. The results showed that the grain sizes and morphologies of the synthesized powders were mainly related to the effects of the reductants on the nucleation rate and the surface-adsorbed energy of the diverse surfactants on special crystal planes. Some surfactants could control the growth of the Bi2Te3 crystals and promote one-dimensional growth of nanorods during hydrothermal synthesis.