LAUSR

Three dimensional (3D) metal tellurides have a broad range of applications, but their template preparation technology is limited by the preferentially formed one dimensional tellurium materials. Here, the hybrid organic–inorganic 3D β-ZnTe(en)0.5 flowerlike microcrystals, which are synthesized by a simple and reproducible method, are used as templates to prepare 3D mesoporous PbTe flowerlike microcrystals through ion-exchange route. The growth mechanism of β-ZnTe(en)0.5 and mesoporous PbTe flowerlike structures are discussed in detail. Firstly, because the binding capacity of Zn2+ ions with Te2− ions and ethylenediamine (EN) molecules is in preference to Te–Te atoms, 3D β-ZnTe(en)0.5 flowerlike microcrystals are formed instead of 1D Te nanorods. During this process, the amount of EN not only play a key role in the control of crystal morphology, but also influence the crystal structure. Secondly, mesoporous PbTe flowerlike microcrystals are formed since Pb2+ ions incompletely occupied the space created by the loss of EN molecules and Zn2+ ions in orthorhombic β-ZnTe(en)0.5 flowerlike templates.