Locating the Atoms at the Hard-soft Interface of Gold Nanoparticles

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Li, Weilun, Esser, Bryan D., Tong, Wenming, Yadav, Anchal, Ophus, Colin, Zheng, Changlin, Findlay, Scott D., Petersen, Timothy, Funston, Alison M., Etheridge, Joanne
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866913733720145920
author Li, Weilun
Esser, Bryan D.
Tong, Wenming
Yadav, Anchal
Ophus, Colin
Zheng, Changlin
Findlay, Scott D.
Petersen, Timothy
Funston, Alison M.
Etheridge, Joanne
author_facet Li, Weilun
Esser, Bryan D.
Tong, Wenming
Yadav, Anchal
Ophus, Colin
Zheng, Changlin
Findlay, Scott D.
Petersen, Timothy
Funston, Alison M.
Etheridge, Joanne
contents Surface structure affects the growth, shape and properties of nanoparticles. In wet chemical syntheses, metal additives and surfactants are used to modify surfaces and guide nanocrystal growth. To understand this process, it is critical to understand how the surface structure is modified. However, measuring the type and arrangement of atoms at hard-soft interfaces on nanoscale surfaces, especially in the presence of surfactants, is extremely challenging. Here, we determine the atomic structure of the hard-soft interface in a metallic nanoparticle by developing low-dose imaging conditions in four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy that are preferentially sensitive to surface adatoms. By revealing experimentally the copper additives and bromide surfactant counterion at the surface of a gold nanocuboid and quantifying their interatomic distances, our direct, low-dose imaging method provides atomic-level understanding of chemically sophisticated nanomaterial surface structures. These measurements of the atomic structure of the hard-soft interface provide the information necessary to understand and quantify surface chemistries and energies and their pivotal role in nanocrystal growth.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_10059
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Locating the Atoms at the Hard-soft Interface of Gold Nanoparticles
Li, Weilun
Esser, Bryan D.
Tong, Wenming
Yadav, Anchal
Ophus, Colin
Zheng, Changlin
Findlay, Scott D.
Petersen, Timothy
Funston, Alison M.
Etheridge, Joanne
Materials Science
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Surface structure affects the growth, shape and properties of nanoparticles. In wet chemical syntheses, metal additives and surfactants are used to modify surfaces and guide nanocrystal growth. To understand this process, it is critical to understand how the surface structure is modified. However, measuring the type and arrangement of atoms at hard-soft interfaces on nanoscale surfaces, especially in the presence of surfactants, is extremely challenging. Here, we determine the atomic structure of the hard-soft interface in a metallic nanoparticle by developing low-dose imaging conditions in four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy that are preferentially sensitive to surface adatoms. By revealing experimentally the copper additives and bromide surfactant counterion at the surface of a gold nanocuboid and quantifying their interatomic distances, our direct, low-dose imaging method provides atomic-level understanding of chemically sophisticated nanomaterial surface structures. These measurements of the atomic structure of the hard-soft interface provide the information necessary to understand and quantify surface chemistries and energies and their pivotal role in nanocrystal growth.
title Locating the Atoms at the Hard-soft Interface of Gold Nanoparticles
topic Materials Science
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.10059