Materials that lead to devices with tunable responses
to the morphology
are a potential opportunity. Tellurium, a growing material class possessing
higher electronic conductivity, has recently been seen to exhibit
the same in transition-metal-based complexes when combined toward
wider energy applications. However, it has rarely been engineered
and implemented for morphology-dependent low-dimensional (LD) structures
for catalytic reactions. Herein, for the first time, we provide a
novel approach for designing dimension variable nano nickel tellurate
(NTO), such as nanorods (NRs), through pH assisted anisotropic transformation
from the zero-dimensional amorphous counterpart. The resulting NRs
have an average width of 5–30 nm and lengths in micrometers.
Mechanistic studies show that the morphology of the final product
is determined by the pH value used. In line with structural phase
analysis, average core-level spectroscopic and local spectro-microscopic
determinations confirm the formation of Ni2+- and Te4+/Te6+-based NTO NRs via electronic structure investigation
and covalency. Our study not only provides a fresh approach to achieve
varied NTO NRs but also offers insights into the growth reaction mechanisms
of anisotropic transformation. The proposed facile design scheme can
be optimized to synthesize any nanotellurates with morphological purity
to promote the catalytic reactions through low-dimensional activity.
As an example, these samples were tested for the oxygen evolution
reaction.