Inherent Surface Properties of Adsorbent-Free Ultrathin BiSe Topological Insulator Platelets.

We report on a hydrothermal synthesis of hexagonal ultra-thin BiSe platelets, which was performed without any organic reactants. The synthesis resulted in the particles with a surface, clean of any organic adsorbents, which was confirmed with a high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, zeta-potential measurements and thermogravimetric measurements coupled with a mass spectroscopy. Due to the absence of the adsorbed organic layer on the BiSe platelet surface, we were able to measure their inherent surface and optical properties.