Preparation and Characterization of ZnSe Tetrapods with Sphalerite Nucleus

Manipulation of materials with nanoscale control is the key of nanoscience and nanotechnology,because the intrinsic properties of nanoscale materials are closely determined by their structures.In this work,a tetrapod-shaped ZnSe nanostructure was synthesized successfully via thermal evaporation and their crystallographic structures were characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscope.The morphology and construction of ZnSe nanostructure are discussed in detail.The as-grown ZnSe tetrapods include one zinc blende nucleus and four arms with uniform wurtzite structure growing along the direction.And the co-existence of two crystal structures in different domains of one ZnSe nanocrystal is experimentally demonstrated.According to the crystal phase stability in different temperature regions and crystallographic property of ZnSe,an acceptable growth model is employed to explain the formation process of this newly discovered ZnSe tetrapods nanocrystal.