Soft ZnSe nanobelts: Characterization and feasibility for assembling tubular ZnSe nanostructures

Abstract Soft ZnSe nanobelts were synthesized by taking Triton X-100 as the template surfactant in a microemulsion. Orderly alternating grooves and bulges on the surface of the nanobelts were first observed via TEM images, and potentially divide a nanobelt into quantum wire bundles. We found that the as-prepared nanobelts show remarkable varied photon scattering and optical properties. A tubular ZnSe structure was successfully obtained with extra treatment. This is an important phenomenon because that the regular folded nanobelts should help us to understand the plastic mechanical properties in a nanoscale assembled tubular structure of nanomaterials and modulate the optical properties of semiconductors.