Microwave Assisted Preparation and Synthesis of Bi₂Se₃ Nanosheets a Solid State Reaction Approach

Bi₂Se₃ a rhombohedral crystal structure with hexagonal close-packed atomic layers is a potential material for thermoelectric heating and cooling devices. Also used as a topological insulator with surface conductivity that is making it an attractive candidate for practical applications like spintronics devices, quantum computers etc. A microwave furnace flash technique was first time successfully employed to synthesize bulk Bismuth Selenide (Bi₂Se₃) at 650 °C and nanosheets at 350 °C within a short time of 30 minutes using selenium and bismuth powder by solid state reaction. The synthesized material was characterized using powder X-ray diffraction, FT-Raman, EDS, SEM and HRTEM in order to identify its crystalline property, various functional group, stoichiometry ratio, morphology and confirmation of its size and morphology.