  A new class of materials, Topological Crystalline Insulators (TCIs) have been
shown to possess exotic surface state properties that are protected by mirror
symmetry. These surface features can be enhanced if the surface-area-to-volume
ratio of the material increases, or the signal arising from the bulk of the
material can be suppressed. We report the experimental procedures to obtain
high quality crystal boules of the TCI, SnTe, from which nanowires and
microcrystals can be produced by the vapour-liquid-solid (VLS) technique.
Detailed characterisation measurements of the bulk crystals as well as of the
nanowires and microcrystals produced are presented. The nanomaterials produced
were found to be stoichiometrically similar to the source material used.
Electron back-scatter diffraction (EBSD) shows that the majority of the
nanocrystals grow in the vicinal {001} direction to the growth normal. The
growth conditions to produce the different nanostructures of SnTe have been
optimised.
