Research applies unprecedented technique in Brazil for the investigation of crystalline nanoparticles
The development of faster and more efficient electronic devices, better catalysts for the chemical industry, alternative energy sources, and so many other technologies depends increasingly on the in-depth understanding of the behavior of materials at the nanometer scale.
The properties of particles on this scale may be completely different from the properties of the same material in its macroscopic version. In addition, nanoparticles of different sizes and shapes can have completely different characteristics, even though they are formed by the same material.
The possibility of regulating the optical and electrical properties of nanoparticles by controlling their composition, shapes and sizes opens the door to an immense variety of applications. In this context, nanocrystals – nanometric particles that have a crystalline structure – have attracted great interest.
A crystal is a type of solid whose atoms or molecules are arranged in a well-defined three-dimensional pattern that repeats itself in space on a regular basis. The optical and electrical properties of crystalline materials depend not only on the atoms or molecules that constitute them but also on the way they are distributed. Therefore, defects or impurities present during crystal formation cause a disorder in the crystal structure. The consequent modification in the electronic structure of the crystal can lead to changes in its properties.
>Read more on the Brazilian Light Source Laboratory website
Image: PDF analysis obtained from electron diffraction data for nanocrystals before (ZrNC-Benz) and after ligand exchange (ZrNC-OLA).
Credit: Reprinted with permission from J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2019, 10, 7, 1471-1476. Copyright 2019 American Chemical Society.