Synthesis of gram-scale germanium nanocrystals by a low-temperature inverse micelle solvothermal route

Abstract

We report a simple low-temperature inverse micelle solvothermal route for the synthesis of a large quantity of single-crystalline germanium nanocrystals. X-ray diffraction measurement indicates that the as-prepared nanocrystals are composed of pure Ge with a cubic structure. The morphology, size, chemical composition, crystallinity, and structural features of the as-prepared nanocrystals were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy.