Thermal Stability and Anisotropic Sublimation of Two-Dimensional Colloidal Bi2Te3 and Bi2Se3 Nanocrystals.

ABSTRACT: The structural and compositional stabilities of two-dimensional (2D) Bi2Te3 and Bi2Se3 nanocrystals, produced by both colloidal synthesis and by liquid phase exfoliation, were studied by in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) during annealing at temperatures between 350 and 500 °C. The sublimation process induced by annealing is structurally and chemically anisotropic and takes place through the preferential dismantling of the prismatic {011̅0} type planes, and through the preferential sublimation of Te (or Se). The observed anisotropic sublimation is independent of the method of nanocrystal's synthesis, their morphology, or the presence of surfactant molecules on the nanocrystals surface. A thickness-dependent depression in the sublimation point has been observed with nanocrystals

SUBMITTER: Buha J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5633265 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature