Electrical properties of individual Ag2Te nanowires synthesized by a facile hydrothermal approach

The straight single crystal silver telluride nanowires with the diameter of about 200 nm and length up to micrometers of decades have been prepared by the hydrothermal process without any template or any surfactant. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectrum, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-resolution TEM reveal that the as-synthesized products are high purity and well-crystallized. The reversible structural phase transition from the low-temperature monoclinic structure to the high-temperature face-centered cubic structure was observed by differential scanning calorimetry. In particular, the electrical properties of individual Ag2Te nanowires were investigated by the voltammetric technique for the first time and I–V curves were clearly nonlinear and symmetrical with respect to both axes. Furthermore, the drastic reduction in electrical current around the phase transition temperature in the single nanowire is discovered, paving further studies for fabrication of one-dimensional nanoscale devices.