The case for advancing the fundamental chemistry of Aluminum nanocrystals is a strong one: as the most abundant metal on earth with excellent optical/plasmonic properties, there is extraordinary potential for many applications initially envisioned for Au and Ag to be realized with Al NCs. For the past several years we have been studying the nucleation and growth chemistry of Al NCs to develop pathways towards highly regular size and shape control. Unique to Al nanocrystals is the dependence of Al NC growth on a catalyst, and both the molecular structure and the chemical composition of this catalyst have strong effects on the resulting nanocrystal morphology. The specific catalyst and solvent combination can control both Al NC morphology and size. Thermodynamic versus Kinetic controlled growth regimes can be obtained within this parameter space, resulting in pathways to reduced-symmetry nanocrystalline structures. While the nucleation and growth chemistry differs profoundly from that of the fcc noble metals, we are beginning to establish several routes to controlled Al NC growth of several of the canonical fcc morphologies, such as nanocubes, octahedral, nanorods, and nanoplatelets, as well as new morphologies that are rarely if ever seen in noble metal nanoparticle synthesis.

Aluminum nanocrystal growth chemistry: Similarities with our noble neighbors

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.