Sequential Growth and Etching of Gold Nanocrystals Revealed by High-Resolution Liquid Electron Microscopy

Abstract

Sequential growth and etching of Au nanoparticles in solution are observed in situ using the graphene liquid cell electron microscopy. Observation reveals that concentration of etching ions in aqueous growth solution leads transition from nanoparticle growth to its etching. At each step, the authors demonstrate different kinetics for both morphological evolutions and reaction rates. This study will likely benefit design strategies of nanoparticles with specific size or shape.