AgPb10SbTe12 microrods with a rough surface grown through an in situ template route and their electrical transport properties

Abstract

In this paper, we developed a one-pot solution strategy to synthesize AgPb₁₀SbTe₁₂ microrods with a rough surface. The rough AgPb₁₀SbTe₁₂ rods with a length of up to 10–20 μm and diameter of 0.5–1 μm are composed of tiny nanocrystals. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) were employed to characterize the structure, morphology, phase composition, and chemical composition, respectively, of the as-obtained products. Detailed experiments revealed that the types of organic solvents used had a crucial effect on the morphology of the prepared products. An in situ template route has been proposed to elucidate the formation of AgPb₁₀SbTe₁₂ rods based on the time-dependent experiments. Furthermore, the electrical transport properties of as-prepared products were investigated.