Morphological control of SnTe nanostructures by tuning catalyst composition

A method of controlling the morphology of SnTe nanostructures produced by a simple chemical vapor deposition is presented, in which Au-containing catalysts with different Au concentrations are used to induce specific growth behavior. Triangular SnTe nanoplates with a {100} dominated surface and {100}, {111} and {120} side facets were induced by AuSn catalysts, whereas < 010 > SnTe nanowires with four nonpolar {100} side-facets were produced using Au₅Sn catalysts. Through detailed structural and chemical characterization, coupled with surface energy calculations, it is found that nanowire growth is thermodynamically controlled via a vapor-solid-solid growth mechanism, whereas nanoplate growth is kinetically controlled via a vapor-liquid-solid growth mechanism. Therefore, this study provides a fundamental understanding of the catalyst's role in the growth of Ⅳ-Ⅵ compound nanostructures.