Polymer-assisted preparation of nanoscale films of thermoelectric PbSe and PbTe and of lead chalcogenide-polymer composite films

摘要

Polymer films of polyethyleneoxide (PEO) or poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) containing a single-source precursor for either PbSe or PbTe were used to produce films of nanoparticles of these thermoelectric materials. The monomeric homoleptic chalcogenolates lead(ii) bis-(2,4,6-trifluoromethylphenylselenolate) Pb[SeC_6H_2(CF_3)_3]_2 and lead(ii) bis-[tris(trimethylsilyl)silyl-tellurolate] Pb[TeSi(SiMe _3)_3]_2 were used as single-source precursors for the thermolytic formation of the lead chalcogenides. The thickness and the quality of as-obtained thin films depended decisively on the spin-coating conditions, on the polymer, on the precursor concentration in the composite film before thermolysis and on the annealing time. Thin layers of particles of 30-50 nm size and high crystallinity were obtained. They were characterized by X-ray diffraction, thermal analysis and electron microscopy.