Hydrothermal synthesis of HgTe rod-shaped nanocrystals

HgTe nanorods composed of crystalline particles with the diameter of 100–300 nm and length of up to 2–3 μm have been prepared by a hydrothermal method, and characterized by means of X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transition electron microscopy (TEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). It was found that ammonia played a key role in the formation of HgTe nanorods.