Crystal growth in colloidal tin oxide nanocrystals induced by coalescence at room temperature

• Published in: Applied physics letters Vol. 83; no. 8; pp. 1566 - 1568
• Main Authors: Leite, E. R., Giraldi, T. R., Pontes, F. M., Longo, E., Beltrán, A., Andrés, J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 25-08-2003
• ISSN: 0003-6951; 1077-3118
• DOI: 10.1063/1.1605241

The crystal growth process in colloidal nanocrystal systems is usually associated with the Ostwald-ripening mechanism. Here, we report on experimental evidence indicating that another crystal growth process took place in a colloidal nanocrystal system at room temperature. This crystal growth process is based on grain rotation among neighboring grains, resulting in a coherent grain–grain interface, which, by eliminating common boundaries, causes neighboring grains to coalesce, thereby forming a single larger nanocrystal. This phenomenon was observed in SnO2 nanocrystals (particle size ranging from 10 to 30 Å).