Synthesis of nanocrystalline zinc blende ZnTe by mechanical alloying

Nanocrystalline ZnTe was prepared by mechanical alloying from equiatomic powder mixture. X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry techniques were used to study the structural and thermal properties of the milled powder. An annealing of the as-milled sample at 600 °C for 6 h was performed to clarify thermal reactions showed in its calorimetry measurement. Minority crystalline phases (Te and ZnO) and residual amorphous ones were observed for both annealed and as-milled samples. The structural parameters, phase fractions, mean crystallite sizes and strains of all crystalline phases were obtained from Rietveld analyses of the X-ray patterns using the program package GSAS.