Microwave-assisted synthesis of Sb2Se3 submicron tetragonal tubular and spherical crystals

Sb(2)Se(3) submicron tetragonal tubes have been prepared by a microwave-assisted polyol method using antimony trichloride and sodium selenite as the Sb and Se precursors. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results showed a novel transformation of Sb(2)Se(3) microstructures from submicron tubes to submicron spheres during the microwave heating process. The potential growth mechanism has been investigated by analyzing the samples at different growth stages. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses confirmed that samples prepared under 10 min microwave heating possessed tetragonal tubular structure with lengths in the range of 10-30 microm, thicknesses in the range of 0.5-1 microm and wall thicknesses in the range of 100-200 nm. High-resolution TEM (HRTEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) results revealed that Sb(2)Se(3) submicron tubes were single-crystalline along the [001] direction. The optical properties of Sb(2)Se(3) submicron tubes and submicron spheres were characterized by UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and the band gap (E(g)) derived to be 1.161 and 1.173 eV, respectively.