  We report a novel synthesis for near monodisperse, sub-10-nm Bi2Te3
nanoparticles. At first, a new reduction route to bismuth nanoparticles is
described which are applied as starting materials in the formation of
rhombohedral Bi2Te3 nanoparticles. After ligand removal by a novel hydrazine
hydrate etching procedure, the nanoparticle powder is spark plasma sintered to
a pellet with preserved crystal grain sizes. Unlike previous works on the
properties of Bi2Te3 nanoparticles, the full thermoelectric characterization of
such sintered pellets shows a highly reduced thermal conductivity and the same
electric conductivity as bulk n-type Bi2Te3.
