Hexagonal CdTe nanorods in spray deposited CdTe nanoparticle thin films

Nanoparticle CdTe thin films were deposited by spraying CdTe nanoparticles, synthesized by the solvo-thermal method and dispersed in 1-butanol, on glass substrates at a temperature of 200 degreesC. Films were deposited with and without a voltage applied to the nozzle during the deposition. X-ray diffraction of the film deposited without voltage showed cubic CdTe dominant peaks, while the films deposited with a voltage of 700 V showed hexagonal CdTe dominant peaks. TEM studies of the films deposited with an applied voltage of 700 V revealed the formation of nanorods having widths varying from 20 nm to 100 nm and being up to few microns long. Electron diffraction patterns for the films deposited with 700 V showed the formation of hexagonal CdTe nanorods with lattice parameters a = 0.454 nm and c = 0.745 nm. The films deposited without voltage showed uniformly distributed spherical nanoparticles (average size similar to10 nm), and the lattice parameter a was found to be 0.645 nm. (C) 2004 WILEYNCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.