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AbstractA critical aspect in the practical application and enhanced catalytic performance of shape controlled nanocrystals is their stability and morphology retention under ambient conditions.Changes to the morphology of shape-controlled Pd nanocrystals capped by PVP are assessed by TEM and surface oxidation was evaluated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), over 12 months. Surface oxidation of PVP-capped Pd nanocrystals resulted in loss of edge and corner sites and transition to spherical morphologies. The shape stability of the nanocrystals was found to follow the trend cubic < cuboctahedra < octahedral ~ concave cubes. For low index planes, {111} surfaces are more resistant to oxidation compared to {100} facets, correlating with the surface free energy of the nanocrystals. Cubic and cuboctahedral nanocrystals transitioned to spherical particles while octahedral nanocrystals retained their morphology. The presence of high energy {110} facets were observed in the cubic nanocrystals which undergo surface reconstruction. The presence of surface defects such as stacking faults were also found to influence the rate of the structural changes.Concave cubic nanocrystals, which possess high index facets and surface energies were consistently found to display excellent morphology retention. The concave cubic 2 nanocrystals displayed superior shape stability and reduced oxidation compared to cubic and cuboctahedral nanocrystals. XPS analysis further determined that PVP capping ligands on different Pd surface facets strongly influences the morphological consistency. The stability of the concave cubes can be attributed to stronger chemisorption of PVP capping ligands to the high index plane making them less susceptible to oxidation.