Recent Advances In Template Assisted Growth Engineering of Inorganic Nanocrystals

Nanoparticles (NPs) of controlled size, shape, and composition have attracted significant attention due to their applicability in a future generation device. The interaction of particles with interfaces varies with the change in their morphology. The anisotropic nanostructures are of considerable attention for scientific and technological application as they are expected to exhibit substantial advantages over their isotropic counterparts in several fields, such as enhanced energy harvesting, improved charge transport properties, nonlinear optical responses, enhanced optical gain, and polarized light absorption and emission. It is noteworthy to mention that the crystallization from a solution governs the growth process which subsequently determines the shape of the particle. Several competing factors, such as preferential attachment to different crystal facets, surfactant-mediated directional growth, and the utilization of surface coordinating ligands, induce the morphologies of anisotropic particles. A number of fascinating anisotropic nanostructures, including nanorods, wires, tetrapods, multipods, dumbbells, and platelets, have been synthesized employing solution chemistry. However, still there is a quest of low cost and easily scalable synthesis strategies to systematically develop size and shape modulated nanoparticles. In this review, the state-of-the-art in the area of the synthesis techniques for the exploration of size and shape control of a variety of inorganic nanomaterials is overviewed. The crystal growth mechanisms both intrinsically and in the presence of templates are discussed. Finally, we conclude with the recent development in the research progress in this topic as well as our perspectives on the challenges and opportunities.