New paper: Kinetically Driven Cadmium Chalcogenide Nanorod Growth Fed by Local Cluster Aggregates
How do nanorods grow? In this paper we show that next to selective surface passivation the aggregation of nucleation monomer into reaction intermediates is a crucial factor. These result in a heterogeneous distribution of monomer and form localised reaction hot spots.
Our newest paper has been accepted by the Journal of Physical Chemistry C, in which we show that during the growth of CdS nanorods onto CdSe seeds a polymeric intermediate forms that is necessary for fast, one-dimensional growth. Aggregartion into these intermediates causes a heterogeneous distribution of the nucleating species or monomer into hot spots of high concetration. Nanorod growth can porceed here under reaction-limited instead of diffusion-limited kinetics. These findings pave the way towards a rational synthesis of complex nanocrystals with a high degree of regio-selectivity.