Synthesis and characterisation of nanomaterials of the topological crystalline insulator SnTe

Abstract

A new class of materials, Topological Crystalline Insulators (TCIs) have been shown to possess exotic surface state properties that are protected by mirror symmetry. These surface features can be enhanced if the surface-area-to-volume ratio of the material increases, or the signal arising from the bulk of the material can be suppressed. We report the experimental procedures to obtain high quality crystal boules of the TCI, SnTe, from which nanowires and microcrystals can be produced by the vapour-liquid-solid (VLS) technique. Detailed characterisation measurements of the bulk crystals as well as of the nanowires and microcrystals produced are presented. The nanomaterials produced were found to be stoichiometrically similar to the source material used. Electron back-scatter diffraction (EBSD) shows that the majority of the nanocrystals grow in the vicinal {001} direction to the growth normal. The growth conditions to produce the different nanostructures of SnTe have been optimised.

arXiv comment5 pages, 6 figures, 1 table, to appear in Crystal Growth & Design

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Cited by in corpus (7)

• Synthesis of SnTe Nanoplates with {100} and {111} Surfaces
• Finite-size-effect-induced topological phase transition in a topological crystalline insulator
• Topological Crystalline Insulator Nanostructures
• Surface oxidation and thermoelectric properties of indium-doped tin telluride nanowires
• Synthesis of narrow SnTe nanowires using alloy nanoparticles
• Nanomaterials of the topological crystalline insulators, Pb_(1-x)Sn_(x)Te and Pb_(1-x)Sn_(x)Se
• Superconducting Sn_{1-x}In_{x}Te Nanoplates