Article Title
Direct observation of Pt nanocrystal coalescence induced by electron-excitation-enhanced van der Waals interactions
Authors
Ying Jiang, Center of Electron Microscopy and State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Yong Wang, Center of Electron Microscopy and State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Yu Yang Zhang, Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, USA
Zhengfei Zhang, Center of Electron Microscopy and State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Wentao Yuan, Center of Electron Microscopy and State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Chenghua Sun, Centre for Computational Molecular Science, Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
Xiao Wei, Center of Electron Microscopy and State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Casey N. Brodsky, Department of Chemistry, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA
Chia-Kuang Tsung, Department of Chemistry, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA
Jixue Li, Center of Electron Microscopy and State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Xiaofeng Zhang, Hitachi High Technologies America, Pleasanton, CA 94588, USA
Scott X. Mao, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
Shengbai Zhang, Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, USA
Ze Zhang, Center of Electron Microscopy and State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Keywords
Pt nanocrystals, coalescence, electron excitation, van der Waals interactions
Abstract
Nanocrystal coalescence has attracted paramount attention in nanostructure fabrication in the past decades. Tremendous endeavor and progress have been made in understanding its mechanisms, benefiting from the development of transmission electron microscopy. However, many mechanisms still remain unclear, especially for nanocrystals that lack a permanent dipole moment standing on a solid substrate. Here, we report an in situ coalescence of Pt nanocrystals on an amorphous carbon substrate induced by electron-excitationenhanced van der Waals interactions studied by transmission electron microscopy and first principles calculations. It is found that the electron-beam-induced excitation can significantly enhance the van der Waals interaction between Pt nanocrystals and reduce the binding energy between Pt nanocrystals and the carbon substrate, both of which promote the coalescence. This work extends our understanding of the nanocrystal coalescence observed in a transmission electron microscope and sheds light on a potential pathway toward practical electronbeam- controlled nanofabrication.
Graphical Abstract
Publisher
Tsinghua University Press
Recommended Citation
Ying Jiang,Yong Wang,Yu Yang Zhang,Zhengfei Zhang,Wentao Yuan,Chenghua Sun,Xiao Wei,Casey N. Brodsky,Chia-Kuang Tsung,Jixue Li,Xiaofeng Zhang,Scott X. Mao,Shengbai Zhang,Ze Zhang, Direct observation of Pt nanocrystal coalescence induced by electron-excitation-enhanced van der Waals interactions. NanoRes.2014, 7(3): 308–314
