Oriented Attachment Mechanism in Anisotropic Nanocrystals: A "Polymerization" Approach

The kinetic model of stepwise polymerization is revisited, with some adaptations for its application to the kinetics of oriented attachment of nanoparticles in colloidal suspensions, which results in the formation of anisotropic particles. A comparison with experimental data reported in the literature shows good agreement with the model and supports comparisons with other systems. Growing Colloids: Oriented attachment mechanisms in nanostructures (e.g. nanowires, nanoribbons, nanorods) are experimentally correlated to the tailoring of these structures (see figure); this differs from coarsening as it is not a solubilization–precipitation process. The authors propose a physical model based on a polymerization approach to aid a deeper understanding of anisotropic growth on the nanoscale.