Nanosized tellurium clusters grown at thiolated beta-cyclodextrin molecular template modified electrodes: Electrochemical deposition and STM characterization

We report the electrochemical preparation of tellurium nanoclusters at Au(1 11) electrodes modified with molecular templates. The molecular templates w ere obtained by properly arranging thiolated beta -cyclodextrin (beta -CD) self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on Au(111) electrodes. Tellurium particles of as small as 1-2 nm. in diameter and similar to 2 Angstrom in height wer e observed by in situ electrochemical scanning tunneling microscope (STM) e xperiments during the electrochemical deposition. The seeding and growth ki netics of the nanoclusters were examined through voltammetry and STM measur ements. The tellurium nanoclusters thus prepared on the mixed SAM-covered g old electrode were shown to have an n-type semiconductor property by photoe lectrochemical experiments.