Thin single-crystalline Bi2(Te1−xSex)3 ternary nanosheets synthesized by a solvothermal technique

Bi2(Te1−xSex)3 ternary nanosheets have been successfully synthesized through a facile solvothermal technique using diethylenetriamine as solvent, where x can vary from 0 to 1. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicate that the as-synthesized Bi2(Te1−xSex)3 samples are nanosheets with rhombohedral structure, and the thickness of the nanosheets can be as thin as several nanometers. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) reveal that the nanosheets are single crystalline with a rhombohedral structure. Energy disperse spectroscopy (EDS) and XRD analysis by Vegard׳s law confirm that the ternary Bi2(Te1−xSex)3 nanosheets have been obtained here. The growth of the nanosheets is discussed based on an amine-based molecular template mechanism that has been employed to synthesize some other metal chalcogenides.