Journal
CRYSTAL GROWTH & DESIGN
Volume 10, Issue 2, Pages 504-509Publisher
AMER CHEMICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1021/cg900392m
Keywords
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Funding
- National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, China
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In this study, we report novel anisotropic nanostructures of goethite (alpha-FeOOH) nanocrystallites induced by oriented attachment at high pH in the absence of organic additives. Combined transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy analyses shed new light on different stages of the oriented attachment process. It is found that a straight prerod intermediate was assembled by crystallographically aligned nanoparticles with a rectangular shape; a V-shaped structure with an angle of (118.5 +/- 3.5)degrees was connected by apexes of two needle-shaped rods sharing three comparable dimensions, while a Y shape was constructed by a V-shaped rod and a straight one through planar stacking. This is the first example of such a straight and branched topology achieved at high pH without the assistance of organic additives. Our Findings will be potentially applicable to a range of naturally abundant colloidal nanocrystallites (e.g., metal (oxyhydr)oxide and sulfide minerals) occurring in the evolution of hydro-, bio-, and geochemical systems. The results from this study could provide broad implications in self- and directed-engineering complex nanostructures through the oriented attachment mechanism.
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