Fabrication of Sb2O3 nanobelt bundles via a facile ultrasound-assisted room temperature liquid phase chemical route and evaluation of their optical properties

The complex nanostructure of antimony trioxide (Sb2O3) nanobelt bundles (NBBs) were fabricated via a facile ultrasound-assisted room temperature liquid phase chemical route in less than 15 min. The typical morphology of Sb2O3 NNBs is that a lot of nanobelts grow radically from the center of a bundle with lengths around 10 μm, and the building block of a single nanobelt is below 100 nm in thickness and 100–200 nm in width. Closely inspecting the growth process and crystallographic analysis of as-synthesized product indicates that Sb2O3 NNBs growth mechanism is imperfect oriented attachment. Moreover, as-prepared Sb2O3 NBBs display a significant room temperature photoluminescence (PL) emission band at 373 nm, showing great potential as new functional materials for developing advanced optoelectronic nanodevices.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideHighlights► Sb2O3 nanobelt bundles were fabricated in an aqueous solution at room temperature. ► Sb2O3 nanobelts are growing from the bundle center. ► Their morphology is mainly determined by ammonia and surfactant TX-100. ► The imperfect oriented attachment formation mechanism is elucidated. ► The bundles display a significant photoluminescence at room temperature.