The lanthanide tellurides are a diverse class of materials with fascinating physical properties arising from their 4f orbitals. Noteworthy phases include europium monotelluride, an intrinsic magnetic semiconductor and the family of lanthanide tritellurides, many of which are magnetic, high-mobility, Van Der Waals materials. While many solid-state synthetic routes are known to these materials, the mismatch between the “hard” lanthanide and “soft” telluride complicates colloidal synthesis. We developed a synthetic approach to access phase pure EuTe and LnTe3 nanomaterials. The EuTe nanoparticles are ~20nm highly crystalline spherical particles and show an optical bandgap comparable to the bulk. The LnTe3 particles all preferentially form into sheets that are around 20nm thick. In both of these systems, we hope to study the effect of dimensionality on both the physical properties. Through this synthetic route, we expect to form tellurides of all the lanthanides and perhaps expand its use to additional metals.

Colloidal synthesis of lanthanide telluride nanoparticles

ACS Spring 2022

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