Controlled synthesis of GeSe2 and GeSe nanostructures induced by TBAB

Ge-based selenides have attracted extensive attention as promising candidates for future optoelectronic applications. Despite great progress has been achieved, the controlled synthesis of GeSe2 and GeSe nanostructures and understanding the relative growth mechanisms of them are still lacking. Herein, monodispersed GeSe2 nanoflowers with a diameter of similar to 4 mu m and highly uniform GeSe nanoparticles with a lateral size of similar to 100 nm are presented by using a colloidal synthetic method. It is found that borane tert-butylamine complex (TBAB) plays an important role in determining the Ge-Se crystal phases due to its moderately reducibility. Furthermore, the coexistence of GeSe2 and GeSe phases can also be acquired by precisely controlling the amount of TBAB. In brief, this work provides both new insights of the phase control of Ge-based selenides by liquid-phase method and a practical means of producing well-controlled germanium selenide nanostructures.