Abstract
Reactions carried out with diphenylgermane (DPG) and trioctylphosphine- tellurium (TOP-Te) in supercritical hexane at 460 °C at 13.6 MPa yielded faceted GeTe particles. When octanol was added to the reactions, the GeTe particles formed with arrays of aligned Te nanorods extending off their surfaces. These GeTe/Te heterostructures also formed when other additives such as oleic acid and isoprene were present in the reactions, but the addition of thiols quenched Te nanorod growth. These surfactant additives appear to influence reactant decomposition, deposition, and crystallization kinetics. Careful crystallographic analyses revealed that the Te nanorods extend epitaxially from the faceted GeTe surfaces and that this epitaxial interfacing determined the growth direction of the Te nanorods. This system provides an example of how the lattice mismatch between a deposited material and an underlying substrate can lead to formation of an array of nanowires. © 2008 American Chemical Society.