Synthesis and Characterization of Tellurium Microtubes

Tellurium (Te) is a potential material for multiple applications due to its distinct features, including its anisotropic crystal structure and narrow bandgap energy. In this work, we use the chemical vapor transport reaction (CVT) method to synthesize tellurium microtubes (Te MTs) with hexagonal and rectangular cross-sections. The structure and composition of the Te MTs were analyzed using characterization methods such as, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), selected-area electron diffraction (SAED), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Furthermore, computational techniques such as density functional theory (DFT) computations were utilized to examine the electronic and the optical properties of bulk Te.