Electrochemical Fabrication of Large-Area, Ordered Bi₂Te₃ Nanowire Arrays

Abstract

Thermoelectric material Bi 2 Te 3 has been successfully synthesized by cathodic electrolysis into porous anodic alumina membranes. X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and electron diffraction (ED) results show that the as-synthesized samples are hexagonal Bi 2 Te 3 single-crystal nanowires. The morphologies and structure of the Bi 2 Te 3 nanowires have been characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results demonstrate that the Bi 2 Te 3 nanowire arrays with a high-filling rate and a large area are dense, continuous, and smooth. Energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) analysis indicates that the atomic ratio of Bi to Te is very close to 2:3 stoichiometry.