Cellulose-directed growth of selenium nanobelts in solution

Elemental selenium nanobelts have been synthesized for the first time by a novel and mild solution method. The synthetic reaction was carried out with cellulose as both reducing and morphology-directing agents in solution under simple hydrothermal conditions at low temperature, which is quite different from the thermal evaporation/reaction process for nanobelts at high temperature. Some other mild biopolyhydric chemicals such as sorbitol and polygalacturonic acid, which are related to cellulose, have also been investigated under our synthetic conditions. When sorbitol and polygalacturonic acid were used as reducing agents, different one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures, simple cylindrical nanowires, and centipede-shaped 1D structures could be obtained. This method might bring a new, mild, and economical concept for the synthesis and construction of nanobelts, nanowires, and other kinds of 1D nanostructures.