Single-particle mapping of nonequilibrium nanocrystal transformations

Xingchen Ye, Matthew R. Jones, Layne B. Frechette, Qian Chen, Alexander S. Powers, Peter Ercius, Gabriel Dunn, Grant M. Rotskoff, Son C. Nguyen, Vivekananda P. Adiga, Alex Zettl, Eran Rabani, Phillip L. Geissler, A. Paul Alivisatos

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Chemists have developed mechanistic insight into numerous chemical reactions by thoroughly characterizing nonequilibrium species. Although methods to probe these processes are well established for molecules, analogous techniques for understanding intermediate structures in nanomaterials have been lacking. We monitor the shape evolution of individual anisotropic gold nanostructures as they are oxidatively etched in a graphene liquid cell with a controlled redox environment. Short-lived, nonequilibrium nanocrystals are observed, structurally analyzed, and rationalized through Monte Carlo simulations. Understanding these reaction trajectories provides important fundamental insight connecting high-energy nanocrystal morphologies to the development of kinetically stabilized surface features and demonstrates the importance of developing tools capable of probing short-lived nanoscale species at the single-particle level.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)874-877
Number of pages4
JournalScience
Volume354
Issue number6314
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 18 2016
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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