Preparation of monodisperse Se colloid spheres and Se nanowires using Na2SeSO3 as precursor

Abstract

Nearly monodisperse spherical amorphous Se colloids are prepared by the dismutation of Na2SeSO3 solution at room temperature; by altering the pH of the solution, amorphous Se colloid spheres with sizes of about 120 nm, 200 nm, 300 nm, and 1 µm can be obtained. Se@Ag2Se core/shell spheres are successfully synthesized by using the obtained amorphous Se (a-Se) spheres as templates, indicating the potential applications of these Se nanomaterials in serving as soft templates for other selenides. Meanwhile, selenium nanowires are obtained through a “solid-solution-solid” growth process by dispersing the prepared Se spheres in ethanol. This simple and environmentally benign approach may offer more opportunities in the synthesis and applications of nanocrystal materials.