Mechanisms of Diffusional Nucleation of Nanocrystals and Their Self-Assembly into Uniform Colloids

Abstract

We survey our research on modeling the mechanisms of control of uniformity in growth of nanosize and colloid particles. The former are produced as nanocrystals, by burst-nucleation from solution. The latter, colloid-size particles, are formed by self-assembly (aggregation) of the nanocrystals. In the colloid particle synthesis, the two dynamical processes are coupled, and both are governed by diffusional transport of the respective building blocks (monomers). The interrelation of the two processes allows for synthesis of narrow size distribution colloid dispersions which are of importance in many applications. We first review a mathematical model of diffusive cluster growth by capture of monomer "singlets." Burst nucleation of nanoparticles in solution is then analyzed. Finally, we couple it to the secondary process of aggregation of nanoparticles to form colloids, and we discuss various aspects of the modeling of particle size distribution, as well as other features of the processes considered.

26 pages in PDF, including 5 figures

References in corpus (1)

• Model of nanocrystal formation in solution by burst nucleation and diffusional growth

Cited by in corpus (7)

• Morphology of Fine-Particle Monolayers Deposited on Nanopatterned Substrates
• Models of Synthesis of Uniform Colloids and Nanocrystals
• Synthesis of Dispersed Metal Particles for Applications in Photovoltaics, Catalysis, and Electronics
• Phase Transitions in Systems with Aggregation and Shattering
• Non-extensive super-cluster states in aggregation with fragmentation
• Growth of Highly Crystalline Nickel Particles by Diffusional Capture of Atoms
• Supercluster states and phase transitions in aggregation-fragmentation processes