Facile one-pot solvothermal synthesis of CdTe nanorods and their photoelectrical properties

Uniform CdTe NRs were synthesized by a one-pot PVP-assisted solvothermal process under mild conditions. By adjusting the reaction temperature and the amounts of surfactant and reducing agent, CdTe NRs of 80 ± 30 nm in diameter and 300–500 nm in length were prepared. It was found that uniform CdTe NRs can be obtained by reacting 0.4 g PVP, 5.0 ml AAAS and 2 mL CdCl2·2.5H2O aqueous solution at 150 °C for 12 h. By assembling the CdTe NRs into photodetectors, a photocurrent of 2.51 μA and a responsivity of 0.106 A W−1 were obtained under the illumination of 650 nm pulsed incident light for a period of 120 s under 300 K, a laser power of 23.7 μW and bias voltage of +1.0 V. The rise time and decay time of the device were found to be 81 s and 84 s, respectively.