The synthesis of Bi2Te3 nanobelts by vapor–liquid–solid method and their electrical transport properties

Bi2Te3 nanobelts were synthesized on quartz substrates by gold-mediated vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) growth through a thermal evaporation process. The structure and morphology were characterized by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).The temperature dependence of the conductivity of Bi2Te3 single crystal nanobelt shows a semiconductor behavior, and the activation energy was calculated as about 25 meV, indicating that the thermal activation of carriers from the impurity level dominates the transport property.