Optical control of layered nanomaterial generation by pulsed-laser ablation in liquids

Pulsed-laser ablation in liquids capitalizes on combining chemical and optical control to rapidly generate size, composition, and phase-controlled nanostructures, without the need for surfactants. Very high temperatures, which we determined to be ca. (8,400 +/- 1,300) K, pressures, and ion densities exist in the laser-induced liquid-confined plasma. These unique conditions, coupled with the rapid cooling during which nanoparticles are formed, permitted access to new extreme regions of materials' phase diagrams. This way, we produced metastable layered copper and zinc hydroxide-based nanocrystals with interesting physical properties that can serve as precursors for two-dimensional inorganic semiconductor nanomaterials.