Metal Nanocrystals with Highly Branched Morphologies

Metal nanocrystals with highly branched morphologies are an exciting new class of nanomaterials owing to their unique structures, physicochemical properties, and great potential as catalysts, sensing materials, and building blocks for nanoscale devices. Various strategies have recently been developed for the solution‐phase synthesis of metal nanocrystals with branched morphologies, such as multipods and nanodendrites. In this Minireview, the procedures and mechanisms underlying the formation of branched metal nanocrystals are presented in parallel with recent advances in synthetic approaches based on kinetically controlled overgrowth, aggregation‐based growth, heterogeneous seeded growth, selective etching, and template‐directed methods, as well as their properties for catalytic or electrocatalytic applications. Branching out: Metal nanocrystals with highly branched morphologies, such as multipods and nanodendrites, have received growing attention owing to their unique structures and properties. The growth mechanisms, synthetic strategies, and potential applications for such branched metal nanocrystals are discussed.