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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2011
The presence of a high electron density of states in low-dimensional systems such as, nanowires and nanotubes, suggests that these 1D structures can be useful thermoelectric materials. Theoretical calculations predict that: (i) Semimetallic Bi nanowires exhibit semiconducting nature when their nanowire diameter is below 50 nm, and (ii) Semiconducting Bi nanowires with diameter < 10 nm are expected to have an enhanced figure of merit (ZT > 2), when Z=S2σ/κ (S: Seebeck coefficient, σ: electrical conductivity, and κ is the thermal conductivity). We report the synthesis of ∼10 nm diameter Bi nanorods using a pulsed laser vaporization method. The high resolution transmission electron microscopy images of our Bi nanorods show (i) crystalline <012> planes in the core of the nanorods, and (ii) coated with a thin amorphous Bi2O3 layer. The infrared absorption and the surface plasmon peaks in our Bi nanorods are blue-shifted in energy when compared to the corresponding spectra in bulk Bi.