A simple route to alkylamine capped antimony nanoparticles

•Antimony nanoparticles have been synthesized using a novel solution based route.•The antimony nanoparticle are passivated by alkylamines.•The oleylamine capped Sb shows regular cubic morphology.•The orthorhombic phase is prevalent in all particles.

We report the synthesis of antimony (Sb) nanoparticles using a simple solution based thermolysis route. The Sb nanoparticles were capped by the alkylamines, oleylamine (OAm), hexadecylamine (HDA) and dodecylamine (DDA). The electron microscopy results show that well-ordered, monodispersed particles are formed when Sb is capped with OAm and HDA. The X-ray diffraction patterns show peaks indexed to orthorhombic Sb.