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Direct observation of Pt nanocrystal coalescence induced by electron-excitation-enhanced van der Waals interactions

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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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center of Electron Microscopy and State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China

    Ying Jiang, Yong Wang, Zhengfei Zhang, Wentao Yuan, Xiao Wei, Jixue Li & Ze Zhang

  2. Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, 12180, USA

    Yu Yang Zhang & Shengbai Zhang

  3. Centre for Computational Molecular Science, Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia

    Chenghua Sun

  4. Department of Chemistry, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, 02467, USA

    Casey N. Brodsky & Chia-Kuang Tsung

  5. Hitachi High Technologies America, Pleasanton, CA, 94588, USA

    Xiaofeng Zhang

  6. Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA

    Scott X. Mao

Authors
  1. Ying Jiang
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  2. Yong Wang
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  3. Yu Yang Zhang
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  4. Zhengfei Zhang
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  5. Wentao Yuan
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  6. Chenghua Sun
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  7. Xiao Wei
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  9. Chia-Kuang Tsung
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  10. Jixue Li
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  11. Xiaofeng Zhang
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  12. Scott X. Mao
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  13. Shengbai Zhang
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  14. Ze Zhang
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Correspondence to Yong Wang, Shengbai Zhang or Ze Zhang.

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Jiang, Y., Wang, Y., Zhang, Y.Y. et al. Direct observation of Pt nanocrystal coalescence induced by electron-excitation-enhanced van der Waals interactions. Nano Res. 7, 308–314 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-013-0396-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-013-0396-5

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