Kinetics and Mechanisms of Aggregative Nanocrystal Growth

The aggregative growth and oriented attachment of nanocrystals and nanoparticles are reviewed, and they are contrasted to classical LaMer nucleation and growth, and to Ostwald ripening. Kinetic and mechanistic models are presented, and experiments directly observing aggregative growth and oriented a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Chemistry of materials 2014-01, Vol.26 (1), p.5-21
Main Authors: Wang, Fudong, Richards, Vernal N, Shields, Shawn P, Buhro, William E
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:The aggregative growth and oriented attachment of nanocrystals and nanoparticles are reviewed, and they are contrasted to classical LaMer nucleation and growth, and to Ostwald ripening. Kinetic and mechanistic models are presented, and experiments directly observing aggregative growth and oriented attachment are summarized. Aggregative growth is described as a nonclassical nucleation and growth process. The concept of a nucleation function is introduced, and approximated with a Gaussian form. The height (Γmax) and width (Δt n) of the nucleation function are systematically varied by conditions that influence the colloidal stability of the small, primary nanocrystals participating in aggregative growth. The nucleation parameters Γmax and Δt n correlate with the final nanocrystal mean size and size distribution, affording a potential means of achieving nucleation control in nanocrystal synthesis.
ISSN:0897-4756
1520-5002
DOI:10.1021/cm402139r