Ion-Track Etched Templates for the High Density Growth of Nanowires of Bismuth Telluride and Bismuth Antimony Telluride by Electrodeposition

摘要

We report the electrochemical growth of high density arrays of n- type Bi2Te3 and p-type Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 nanowires into ion-track etched polyimide-based Kapton membranes with a density of 5 x 109 wires/cm2. The average diameter of the nanowires is 80 nm with a length of 20 ?m, which is comparable to the pore size and thickness of the employed Kapton foils. The electroplating parameters and microstructural properties are reported for the nanowires whilst thermoelectric properties have been investigated for thin films of Bi2Te3 and Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3.