Methods for synthesis of semiconductor nanocrystals and thermoelectric compositions
AssigneesMassachusetts Institute of Technology, The Trustees of Boston College
InventorsZhifeng Ren, Gang Chen, Bed Poudel, Shankar Kumar, Wenzhong Wang, Mildred Dresselhaus
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Abstract
The present invention provides methods for synthesis of IV–VI nanostructures, and thermoelectric compositions formed of such structures. In one aspect, the method includes forming a solution of a Group IV reagent, a Group VI reagent and a surfactant. A reducing agent can be added to the solution, and the resultant solution can be maintained at an elevated temperature, e.g., in a range of about 20° C. to about 360° C., for a duration sufficient for generating nanoparticles as binary alloys of the IV–VI elements.
Claims33
A method of synthesizing nanoparticles, comprising:
- forming a solution of a Group IV reagent and Group VI reagent and a surfactant,
- adding a reducing agent to the solution, and
- maintaining the resultant solution at an elevated temperature in a range of about 20 to about 360° C. for a time duration so as to generate nanoparticles containing said Group IV and Group VI elements.
A method of generating PbTe nanoparticles, comprising
- preparing a solution containing a surfactant, a Pb-containing reagent and a Te-containing reagent,
- adding a reducing agent to said solution,
- maintaining the resultant solution at a temperature in a range of about 20° C. to about 360° C. for a time duration in a range of about 1 hour to about 50 hours so as to generate a reaction product containing PbTe nanoparticles.
A method of forming PbSe nanoparticles, comprising
- preparing a solution containing a surfactant, and Se-containing reagent and a Pb-containing reagent,
- adding a reducing agent and a base to the solution,
- maintaining the resultant solution at a temperature below about 360° C. for a time duration sufficient to cause formation of a product containing PbSe nanoparticles.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.