Shape without Structure: An Intriguing Formation Mechanism in the Solvothermal Synthesis of the Phase-Change Material Sb2 Te3

Tobias Saltzmann; Manuel Bornhöfft; Joachim Mayer; Ulrich Simon

doi:10.1002/anie.201500304

Shape without Structure: An Intriguing Formation Mechanism in the Solvothermal Synthesis of the Phase-Change Material Sb2 Te3

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2015 May 26;54(22):6632-6. doi: 10.1002/anie.201500304. Epub 2015 Apr 13.

Authors

Tobias Saltzmann^{1

2}, Manuel Bornhöfft^{3

2}, Joachim Mayer^{3

2}, Ulrich Simon^{4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Institut für Anorganische Chemie, RWTH Aachen University, Landoltweg 1, 52074 Aachen (Germany).
² JARA-Fundamentals of Future Information Technologies, RWTH Aachen University, Ahornstrasse 55, 52074 Aachen (Germany).
³ Gemeinschaftslabor für Elektronenmikroskopie, RWTH Aachen University, Ahornstrasse 55, 52074 Aachen (Germany).
⁴ Institut für Anorganische Chemie, RWTH Aachen University, Landoltweg 1, 52074 Aachen (Germany). U.Simon@ac.rwth-aachen.de.
⁵ JARA-Fundamentals of Future Information Technologies, RWTH Aachen University, Ahornstrasse 55, 52074 Aachen (Germany). U.Simon@ac.rwth-aachen.de.

PMID: 25865183
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201500304

Abstract

We introduce a novel solvothermal synthesis of individual single crystalline Sb2 Te3 micro- and nanocrystals as a model material for phase-change switching. We identified different intermediates along the reaction path to the final Sb2 Te3 hexagonal platelets (HPs) and discuss their forming mechanism. By means of nanodiffraction (ND) in a scanning transmission electron microscope we demonstrate that the intermediates follow a hexagonal shape evolution in the amorphous state. In situ nanomanipulator measurements reveal electrical phase-change switching properties of the individual Sb2 Te3 hexagonal platelets.

Keywords: amorphous intermediates; in situ measurements; nanodiffraction; phase change; solvothermal synthesis.