title: Synthesis and structure of undoped and indium-doped thermoelectric lead telluride nanoparticles.
abstract: Undoped and indium (In)-doped lead telluride (PbTe) nanostructures were synthesized via solvothermal/hydrothermal route. The crystalline structure of the as-prepared undoped and In-doped PbTe samples was examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) which indicated the formation of face-centered single-phase cubic crystal. A first principle calculation on indium doping shows that the indium atoms are more likely to replace lead (Pb) rather than to take the interstitial sites. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) analysis confirms that indium is incorporated into the PbTe matrix of the indium-doped PbTe samples. The effects of surfactant and synthesis temperature on the structure and morphology of the undoped PbTe were also investigated; it was found that PbTe nanostructures synthesized with the addition of surfactants exhibited uniform shapes and their size increased with the synthesis temperature.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA.
authors.forename: Kamal
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kadel
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA.
authors.forename: Latha
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kumari
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA.
authors.forename: Xuewen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA.
authors.forename: Wenzhi
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87185, USA.
authors.forename: Jian Yu
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87185, USA.
authors.forename: Paula Polyak
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Provencio
keywords: First principle calculation; Lead telluride; Nanostructure; Solvothermal/hydrothermal synthesis