Solvothermal preparation and characterization of nanocrystalline Bi2Te3 powder with different morphology Original Research Article

Bi2Te3-based alloys are currently best-known, technological important thermoelectric materials near room temperature. In this paper, nanocrystalline Bi2Te3 with different morphologies was synthesized by a solvothermal process based on the reaction between BiCl3, Te, and KBH4 in N,N-dimethylformamide at 100–180 °C. KBH4 was used as a reducing agent. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The particle morphologies and size are dependent on the reaction temperature and time. A possible formation mechanism is proposed.