Critical differences in 3D atomic structure of individual ligand-protected nanocrystals in solution
- Center for Nanoparticle Research, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea.; School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Institute of Chemical Processes, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea.
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia.; ARC Centre of Excellence for Advanced Molecular Imaging, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia.
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea.
- Department of Physics, Konkuk University, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea.
- Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea.
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.; Material Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.; Kavli Energy NanoScience Institute, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
- National Center for Electron Microscopy, Molecular Foundry, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
Precise three-dimensional (3D) atomic structure determination of individual nanocrystals is a prerequisite for understanding and predicting their physical properties. Nanocrystals from the same synthesis batch display what are often presumed to be small but possibly important differences in size, lattice distortions, and defects, which can only be understood by structural characterization with high spatial 3D resolution. We solved the structures of individual colloidal platinum nanocrystals by developing atomic-resolution 3D liquid-cell electron microscopy to reveal critical intrinsic heterogeneity of ligand-protected platinum nanocrystals in solution, including structural degeneracies, lattice parameter deviations, internal defects, and strain. These differences in structure lead to substantial contributions to free energies, consequential enough that they must be considered in any discussion of fundamental nanocrystal properties or applications.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Scientific User Facilities Division
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-05CH11231
- OSTI ID:
- 1637314
- Journal Information:
- Science, Journal Name: Science Journal Issue: 6486 Vol. 368; ISSN 0036-8075
- Publisher:
- AAAS
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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