Morphology Control, Crystal Growth, and Growth Mechanism of Hierarchical Tellurium (Te) Microstructures

Understanding the factors that influence the growth and final shape of semiconductor tellurium microstructures is important for controlling their properties. However, relative to their single-crystalline nanostructures, the growth of complex structures that are ideally composed of nanostructures arranged in a particular way can be difficult to control. Here, we developed a facile solvothermal method and successfully completed the controlled synthesis of Te particles with distinctive morphologies, including flower-like, ball-flower, nestlike, and sheetlike structures. These structures, self-assembled from nanorods and nanosheets, are systematically studied by adjusting the reaction parameters, such as the amount of NaOH, the volume ratio of EG/EN, the amount of PVP, and the reaction time. Results reveal that the morphology of Te microstructures can be easily controlled by simply altering the reaction conditions and that NaOH plays a crucial role in the final morphology of Te products. The growth mechanisms and morphology control of hierarchical Te microstructures are proposed and discussed. This is the first time to report the preparation of complex hierarchical Te microstructures through a simple solution route. This simple solution approach to fabricate hierarchical Te superstructures with controllable morphologies can be easily scaled up and potentially extended to the hierarchical assembly of building blocks of other semiconductors.