Epitaxial Growth of Diamond-Shaped Au1/2Ag1/2CN Nanocrystals on Graphene

Epitaxial synthesis of inorganic nanomaterials on pristine 2D materials is of interest in the development of nanostructured devices and nanocomposite materials, but is quite difficult because pristine surfaces of 2D materials are chemically inert. Previous studies found a few exceptions including Au...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Materials 2021-12, Vol.14 (24), p.7569
Main Authors: Park, Chunggeun, Ham, Jimin, Heo, Yun Jung, Lee, Won Chul
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aqueous solutions
Carbon
Communication
Crystallography
Electron beams
Electron irradiation
Epitaxial growth
Gold
Graphene
Molecular chains
Nanoalloys
Nanocomposites
Nanocrystals
Nanomaterials
Nanostructured materials
Physical properties
Silver
Silver base alloys
Spectrum analysis
Synthesis
Two dimensional materials
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Summary:Epitaxial synthesis of inorganic nanomaterials on pristine 2D materials is of interest in the development of nanostructured devices and nanocomposite materials, but is quite difficult because pristine surfaces of 2D materials are chemically inert. Previous studies found a few exceptions including AuCN, AgCN, CuCN, and Cu0.5Au0.5CN, which can be preferentially synthesized and epitaxially aligned onto various 2D materials. Here, we discover that Au1/2Ag1/2CN forms diamond-shaped nanocrystals epitaxially grown on pristine graphene surfaces. The nanocrystals synthesized by a simple drop-casting method are crystallographically aligned to lattice structures of the underlying graphene. Our experimental investigations on 3D structures and the synthesis conditions of the nanocrystals imply that the rhombic 2D geometries originate from different growth rates depending on orientations along and perpendicular to 1D molecular chains of Au1/2Ag1/2CN. We also perform in situ TEM observations showing that Au1/2Ag1/2CN nanocrystals are decomposed to Au and Ag alloy nanocrystals under electron beam irradiation. Our experimental results provide an additional example of 1D cyanide chain families that form ordered nanocrystals epitaxially aligned on 2D materials, and reveal basic physical characteristics of this rarely investigated nanomaterial.
ISSN:1996-1944
1996-1944
DOI:10.3390/ma14247569