Tinkering with Sn; one and two dimensional tin chalcogenide nanostructures

Abstract

2D layered chalcogenide materials have been subject to intense research interest in recent times, due to their unique physical properties and wide range of potential applications. Such layered materials adopt a bulk form consisting of Van der Waals bound 2D layers, and such a form readily lends itself to the formation of tailored nanostructures due to the easy cleavage of these layers along the van der Waals bound layers. SnSe is one such highly promising layered chalcogenide material which has been gathering a significant amount of interest over the last few years. SnSe exists in a layered material structure, with tightly bound in plane b and c atoms, and weakly bound a axis puckered layers. SnSe adopts a highly anisotropic crystal form, which yields significantly different surface energies and crystal growth speeds along different crystal facets, and thus lends itself ideally for the formation of tailored nanostructures. The effect of nanostructuring has long been shown to induce significant effects in the material properties, with beneficial effects such as better stability, cyclability and scalability being seen for nanostructured devices compared to bulk. 1D nanomaterials in particular are known to exhibit significant novel material properties, often resulting in improved performance for device applications. The properties of SnSe lend itself to utilisation in a wide range of technological applications, such as in Li-ion batteries, thermoelectric devices, memory devices, sensors and optoelectronic applications. This thesis aims to address the synthesis of novel SnSe chalcogenide nanostructures in 1D architectures.