Aqueous chemical reduction synthesis of Bi2Te3 nanowires with surfactant assistance

Nanostructured materials are of great interest for improving the figure of merit of thermoelectric materials. Single crystalline Bi2Te3 nanowires were prepared by aqueous chemical synthesis at 65 °C using Te as the reactant and sodium-dodecyl-benzene-sulfonate (SDBS) as the surfactant. The products obtained by parallel experiments without the addition of SDBS or using Na2TeO3 as the Te-precursor are very fine nanoparticles without nanowires. It is suggested that the directional effect of SDBS and the dissolving of the amorphous tellurium colloids would be two necessary conditions for the growth of Bi2Te3 nanowires in an aqueous chemical route.