Effect of solvent on the microstructures of nanostructured Bi2Te3 prepared by solvothermal synthesis

Nanostructured materials are of much interest for improving the thermoelectric figure of merit. Bi2Te3 nanoparticles with average sizes of 15-20 nm and nanowires with a diameter less than 100 nm and a length of about 10 mum were prepared by solvothermal synthesis at 150degreesC for 24 h using various solvents as the reaction medium and NaBH4 as the reductant. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses showed that the phase distributions, microstructures and grain sizes of the nanostructured Bi2Te3 are mainly related with the dielectric constant and surface tension of the solvent used in the solvothermal synthesis. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.