M. Hunyadi, Z. Gácsi, I. Csarnovics,  L. Csige, A. Csik, L. Daróczi, R. Huszánk, Z. Szűcs

Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 19 (2017) 16477-16484, Impact factor²⁰¹⁷: 3.906

DOI: 10.1039/c7cp01011g

Published: 30 May 2017

Independent citation: 5

Abstract

An unprecedented rate enhancement was observed in the wet-chemical synthesis of tellurium nanowires under crowded conditions of inert macromolecules. The synthesis was carried out at 105 °C using solutions of sodium tellurite (Na₂TeO₃) as a precursor, hydrazine (N₂H₄) as a reducing agent, and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as both a stabilizing and crowding agent. The PVP concentration was systematically varied between the dilute and crowding regimes up to 166 g l⁻¹. The growth of the nanowires was monitored by measuring their size-dependent optical properties in the UV-Vis spectrum characterizing the size and morphology evolution of the nanowires and a coexisting phase of amorphous tellurium nanoparticles. The observed growth characteristics were interpreted in terms of non-specific structural organization of the crowded media due to the entropic-driven effects of space compartmentalization.