Investigation of dimensionality-dependent thermal stability of $${\hbox {Bi}}_{2} {\hbox {Te}}_{3}$$ Bi 2 Te 3

• Published in: Applied physics. A, Materials science & processing Vol. 124; no. 8; pp. 1 - 6
• Main Authors: Singh, Rini, Anoop, M. D., Rathore, Rajan K., Verma, Ajay S., Awasthi, Kamlendra, Saraswat, Vibhav K., Kumar, Manoj
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Heidelberg Springer Nature B.V 01.08.2018
• Subjects: Applied physics; Bismuth tellurides; Chemical synthesis; Crystal structure; Differential scanning calorimetry; Diffraction; Diffraction patterns; Fourier transforms; Intermetallic compounds; Materials science; Mathematical morphology; Nanoparticles; Nanorods; Nanostructure; Nanostructured materials; Organic chemistry; Oxidation; Single crystals; Stability analysis; Tellurides; Thermal stability; Thermodynamic properties; Thermogravimetric analysis; Topological insulators; Transmission electron microscopy; X-ray diffraction
• ISSN: 0947-8396; 1432-0630
• DOI: 10.1007/s00339-018-1959-9

Bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) has myriad applications in the field of topological insulators and thermoelectrics. In the present work, Bi2Te3 nanostructures with two different morphologies were synthesized by wet chemical method. Prepared nanostructures were found to be polycrystalline with rhombohedral crystal structure and r3m space group. Formation of oxides along with Bi2Te3 was observed in the X-ray diffraction pattern and was further confirmed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Oxidation is an important parameter that affects the properties of the nanostructured materials. The morphological investigation done using transmission electron microscopy indicates the formation of nanoparticles and nanorod-like structures. Studies related to their thermal stability were performed using thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. Thermal properties of nanostructures were further compared with bulk single crystals of Bi2Te3. Among the synthesized morphologies, nanoparticles showed highest thermal stability. Overall weight loss of nanoparticles was found to be 21% as compared to 55% for bulk Bi2Te3. High thermal stability of nanoparticles indicates that they may be more suitable as compared to their bulk counterparts for thermoelectric applications.