Quantitative 3D evolution of colloidal nanoparticle oxidation in solution

Real-time tracking of the three-dimensional (3D) evolution of colloidal nanoparticles in solution is essential for understanding complex mechanisms involved in nanoparticle growth and transformation. We used time-resolved small-angle and wide-angle x-ray scattering simultaneously to monitor oxidation of highly uniform colloidal iron nanoparticles, enabling the reconstruction of intermediate 3D morphologies of the nanoparticles with a spatial resolution of ~5 angstroms. The in situ observations, combined with large-scale reactive molecular dynamics simulations, reveal the details of the transformation from solid metal nanoparticles to hollow metal oxide nanoshells via a nanoscale Kirkendall process—for example, coalescence of voids as they grow and reversal of mass diffusion direction depending on crystallinity. Our results highlight the complex interplay between defect chemistry and defect dynamics in determining nanoparticle transformation and formation.