Large‐Scale Synthesis of High Quality Trigonal Selenium Nanowires

Abstract A direct and simple one‐step hydrothermal reaction route has been developed for the synthesis of high quality trigonal selenium (t‐Se) nanowires at 110 °C, with (NH 4 ) 2 S 2 O 3 and Na 2 SeO 3 as starting materials in the presence of the surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The diameter of the trigonal selenium nanowires can be tuned by carefully adjusting the initial feedstock concentration. The unusual chain like structure of the target material plays a key role in determining the final morphologies of the products. Several factors, such as initial concentration of the feedstock, the presence of surfactant, and the temperature which influences the quality of the t‐Se nanowires, have been investigated. The optical properties of the t‐Se nanowires with different diameters were examined by means of UV/Vis absorbance spectroscopy at room temperature. The investigation revealed that the absorbance peak for the t‐Se nanowires with diameters of 20−40 nm shifts to the blue, relative to those for bulk t‐Se nanowires (374 nm) and nanowires with diameters of 50−130 nm (306 nm). (© Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2003)