A two-step process for the synthesis of MoTe₂ nanotubes: Combining a sonochemical technique with heat treatment

A novel two-step approach to the synthesis of nanotubes of a transition metal dichalcogenide is reported. The synthesis combines a sonochemical reaction and an annealing process. MoTe₂ nanotubes have been synthesized by calcining amorphous nanoparticles of MoTe₂ which were sonochemically synthesized by reacting Te with Mo(CO)₆ in decalin. The as-synthesized product was characterized by the structural, compositional and morphological techniques of XRD, SAED, SAEDS, EDX, TEM and HRTEM. The results show that the two-step process leads to MoTe₂ nanotubes whose outer diameters are 20-60 nm and their lengths range from 100 to 500 nm. This method has potential for the synthesis of nanotubes of other transition metal dichalcogenides.