title: Thermodynamics versus kinetics in nanosynthesis.
abstract: One may discover a stone tool by chance but it takes more than luck to make a car or cell phone. With the advance of nanoscience, the synthesis of increasingly sophisticated nanostructures demands a rational design and a systems approach. In this Review, we advocate the distinction between thermodynamically and kinetically controlled scenarios, that is, whether a product forms because it is the most stable state or because the pathway leading to it has the lowest energy barrier. Great endeavours have been made to describe the multiple concurrent processes in typical nanosynthesis phenomena, so that the mechanistic proposals in the literature are brought into a common framework for easy contrast and comparison.
authors.affiliation: Division of Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, Singapore 637371 (Singapore) http://www.ntu.edu.sg/home/hongyuchen/
authors.forename: Yawen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jiating
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Cuicui
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Wen Han
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Chong
authors.forename: Hongyu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
keywords: hybrid structures; kinetics; micelles; nanoparticle synthesis; thermodynamics