Open AccessParticle-based hematite crystallization is invariant to initial particle morphology
Author(s) -
Yining Wang,
Sichuang Xue,
Qingyun Lin,
Duo Song,
Yang He,
Lili Liu,
Jianbin Zhou,
Meirong Zong,
James J. De Yoreo,
Jun Zhu,
Kevin M. Rosso,
Maria L. Sushko,
Xin Zhang
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2112679119
Subject(s) - crystallization , hematite , nanocrystal , particle (ecology) , chemical physics , crystallography , materials science , morphology (biology) , monomer , crystal growth , nanotechnology , chemical engineering , mineralogy , chemistry , geology , polymer , composite material , paleontology , engineering , oceanography
Significance Many crystallization processes occurring in nature produce highly ordered hierarchical architectures. Their formation cannot be explained using classical models of monomer-by-monomer growth. One of the possible pathways involves crystallization through the attachment of oriented nanocrystals. Thus, it requires detailed understanding of the mechanism of particle dynamics that leads to their precise crystallographic alignment along specific faces. In this study, we discover a particle-morphology–independent oriented attachment mechanism for hematite nanocrystals. Independent of crystal morphology, particles always align along the [001] direction driven by aligning interactions between (001) faces and repulsive interactions between other pairs of hematite faces. These results highlight that strong face specificity along one crystallographic direction can render oriented attachment to be independent of initial particle morphology.