Large-scale synthesis of single-crystalline Te nanobelts by a low-temperature chemical vapour deposition route

A low-temperature chemical vapour deposition method has been successfully developed for synthesizing single-crystalline Te nanobelts in bulk quantity from Al2Te3 powder and H2O. The nanobelts had a uniform single-crystal hexagonal structure with width ranging from 50 to 300 nm, thickness about 10-20 nm, and lengths up to several tens of micrometres. The growth of Te nanobelts is controlled by a vapour-solid crystal growth mechanism. The method is very simple and the as-synthesized products are pure, so it represents a practical approach to large-scale synthesis of pure single-crystal Te nanobelts.