While nanoparticles are increasingly being used in novel assays because of their size dependent properties, there are current limitations in the translation of these assays into practical devices. We hypothesize that how shape and size are evaluated and described lead to inconsistencies in expected nanoparticle properties and function. Herein, the physical stability of gold nanospheres and nanostars will be compared and contrasted. Both experimental measurements and theoretical predictions of stability will be shown to depend on how shape and size are described. This combination of theoretical predictions and straightforward experimental measurements of the electrical and optical properties of the nanostructures will demonstrate synergistic effects of how nanoparticles behave in solution or in more complex environments. Such molecular level insights into how shape and size direct nanostructure stability are envisioned to improve the systematic use of solution-phase nanomaterials by providing a method for predicting the thermodynamic stability of nanomaterials.

How do shape and size matter in the stability of nanoparticles?

254th National Meeting (2017)

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