Premium
Polymer Lamellae as Reaction Intermediates in the Formation of Copper Nanospheres as Evidenced by In Situ X‐ray Studies
Author(s) -
Mantella Valeria,
Strach Michal,
Frank Kilian,
Pankhurst James R.,
Stoian Dragos,
Gadiyar Chethana,
Nickel Bert,
Buonsanti Raffaella
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.202004081
Subject(s) - nucleation , nanoparticle , copper , polymer , small angle x ray scattering , in situ , materials science , absorption (acoustics) , scattering , particle (ecology) , reaction mechanism , nanotechnology , chemical engineering , mechanism (biology) , chemical physics , chemistry , organic chemistry , composite material , catalysis , metallurgy , optics , physics , oceanography , engineering , geology , philosophy , epistemology
The classical nucleation theory (CNT) is the most common theoretical framework used to explain particle formation. However, nucleation is a complex process with reaction pathways which are often not covered by the CNT. Herein, we study the formation mechanism of copper nanospheres using in situ X‐ray absorption and scattering measurements. We reveal that their nucleation involves coordination polymer lamellae as pre‐nucleation structures occupying a local minimum in the reaction energy landscape. Having learned this, we achieved a superior monodispersity for Cu nanospheres of different sizes. This report exemplifies the importance of developing a more realistic picture of the mechanism involved in the formation of inorganic nanoparticles to develop a rational approach to their synthesis.