Exploring New Synthetic Strategies for the Production of Advanced Complex Inorganic Nanocrystals

Abstract

Abstract:The design of new protocols for the colloidal synthesis of complex nanocrystals (NCs) with advanced functionalities, comprising both hybrid and hollow structures, and the study of their fundamental properties is of paramount importance for the development of a new generation of nanostructured materials. The possibility of tailoring the dimensional regime of NCs, along with its composition and structure, represents a landmark achievement in the control of their unique physico-chemical properties. These properties, alongside with the ability to cheaply produce high quality NCs in fairly large amounts by wetchemistry techniques, leads to their potential applicability from materials science to nanomedicine. Within this context, this review is focused on describing a successful framework for designing synthetic strategies for the production of advanced complex NCs, integrating the development of new synthetic methods with its structural characterization, monitoring of their properties, and study of its reactivity. As a result, it is expected to provide new routes to produce robust and easy-to-process NCs in a wide range of sizes, shapes and configurations that can be explored to achieve the combination of all degrees of control, aiming to produce a complete and diverse library of material combinations that will expand its applicability in a wide diversity of fields.

Design strategies for shape-controlled magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles

“…nanocrystals which differ from spherical shape) like nanocubes, nanorods, nanowires, nanodisks, and nanoflowers among others. [17][18][19][20][21][22][23] These materials possess direction-dependent properties, high surface-to-volume ratio and also particular crystal facets at the surface that can confer different reactivity. [24] The final shape of the nanocrystals is determined during the growth stage in the synthesis procedure, where thermodynamic and kinetic aspects control the reaction (see Fig.…”

Hollow PdAg-CeO2 heterodimer nanocrystals as highly structured heterogeneous catalysts

“…In this regard, multicomponent NCs made of the combination of two or more compositional domains, each with optimized functionality, is representing a new generation of advanced functional NCs 2,3 . Despite its interest, in this design and development process several challenges and questions arise.…”

Hollow metal nanostructures for enhanced plasmonics: synthesis, local plasmonic properties and applications

“…Hollow nanostructures with controlled hollow interior and shell thickness represent a class of important nanostructured materials due to their above-mentioned outstanding properties and widespread potential applications [15]. The possibility to develop novel hollow nanostructures toward many desired applications relies on the optimization of their performance, which is adjusted by the fine tuning of their properties and is ultimately determined by the control of their morphological and structural parameters.…”