Construction of evolutionary tree for morphological engineering of nanoparticles.
In addition to chemical composition, the chemistry of nanocrystals involves an extra structural factor--morphology--since many of their properties are size- and shape-dependent. Although often described as artificial atoms or molecules, the morphological control of nanoparticles has not advanced to a level comparable to organic total synthesis, where complex molecular structures can be rationally designed and prepared through stepwise reactions. Here we report a morphological engineering approach for gold nanoparticles by constructing an evolutionary tree consisting of a few branches of independent growth pathways. Each branch yields a string of evolving, continuously tunable morphologies from one reaction, therefore collectively producing a library of nanoparticles with minimal changes of reaction parameters. In addition, the tree also provides ground rules for designing new morphologies through crossing over different pathways.
Sohn
Kwonnam
K
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208-3108, USA.
Kim
Franklin
F
Pradel
Ken C
KC
Wu
Jinsong
J
Peng
Yong
Y
Zhou
Feimeng
F
Huang
Jiaxing
J
D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
D006046:Gold