Ultrasonic-induced growth of crystalline tellurium nanorods and related branched structures

An ultrasonic route for the preparation of tellurium nanorods in aqueous solution is established at room temperature. The as-obtained nanorods are characterized to be single crystalline with [0 0 1] growth orientation, and have 30–60 nm in diameter and 200–300 nm in length. Some branched architectures, consisting of several nanorods, are also found in the products. In the synthesis, tellurium nitrate powder is utilized as the tellurium source. UV-vis spectra are recorded at ordinal stages accompanying with the prolongation of the sonochemical reaction. Based on the anisotropic growth determined by the intrinsic linear crystallographic structure of trigonal tellurium, the shaping mechanism of the nanorods is investigated. And the formation of the branched structures is suggested to be the result of multi-nuclei growth in monomer colloid.