In situ Study of Oxidative Etching of Palladium Nanocrystals
by Liquid Cell Electron Microscopy
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Abstract
Oxidative etching
has widely prevailed in the synthesis of a crystal
and played a critical role in determining the final growth behavior.
In this Letter, we report an in situ microscopic study on the oxidative
etching of palladium cubic nanocrystals by liquid cell scanning transmission
electron microscopy. The etching was realized with oxidative radiation
reactants from electron–water interaction in the presence of
Br<sup>–</sup> ions. Dissolution dynamics of monodispersed
and aggregated nanocrystals were both investigated and compared. Analyses
on the dissolution kinetics of nanocrystals and the diffusion kinetics
of the dissolved agents were carried out based on the scanning transmission
electron microscopy characterizations. The results presented here
pave a way toward the quantitative understanding of the oxidative
etching reaction and its application in the functionally orientated
fabrication of nanocrystals with certain sizes, structures, and morphologies