Mechanistic Aspects of Shape Selection and Symmetry Breaking during Nanostructure Growth by Wet Chemical Methods

Viswanath, B and Kundu, Paromita and HaIder, Adid and Ravishankar, N (2009) Mechanistic Aspects of Shape Selection and Symmetry Breaking during Nanostructure Growth by Wet Chemical Methods. In: Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 113 (39). pp. 16866-16883.

PDF 2.pdf - Published Version Restricted to Registered users only Download (853kB) | Request a copy

Abstract

The control of shapes of nanocrystals is crucial for using them as building blocks for various applications. In this paper, we present a critical overview of the issues involved in shape-controlled synthesis of nanostructures. In particular, we focus on the mechanisms by which anisotropic structures of high-symmetry materials (fcc crystals, for instance) could be realized. Such structures require a symmetry-breaking mechanism to be operative that typically leads to selection of one of the facets/directions for growth over all the other symmetry-equivalent crystallographic facets. We show how this selection could arise for the growth of one-dimensional structures leading to ultrafine metal nanowires and for the case of two-dimensional nanostructures where the layer-by-layer growth takes place at low driving forces leading to plate-shaped structures. We illustrate morphology diagrams to predict the formation of two-dimensional structures during wet chemical synthesis. We show the generality of the method by extending it to predict the growth of plate-shaped inorganics produced by a precipitation reaction. Finally, we present the growth of crystals under high driving forces that can lead to the formation of porous structures with large surface areas.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Journal of Physical Chemistry C
Publisher:	American Chemical Society
Additional Information:	Copy right of this article belongs to American Chemical Society.
Department/Centre:	Division of Chemical Sciences > Materials Research Centre
Date Deposited:	16 Dec 2009 10:36
Last Modified:	19 Sep 2010 05:47
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/23829

Actions (login required)

View Item