Tuesday publication post! 📖 Understanding how nanomaterials evolve during solution-phase synthesis is essential for designing structures with enhanced stability and performance. In this study, researchers use a non-conventional way to observe Nanomaterials Synthesis pathways, using the Fusion AX for Liquid Phase EM. The study reveals a crystallization pathway where thermodynamically stable nanoparticles transform into ultra-thin, high-aspect-ratio 2D metal plates with remarkable long-term stability.
Using Fusion AX, they applied precise, controlled heating to a graphene liquid cell to directly observe these transformations as they occurred, providing insight into nanoscale growth processes that are typically inaccessible.
The results revealed:
🔥 An unexpected transformation from stable nanoparticles into high-energy 2D metal plates during solution-phase synthesis
📐 Formation of ultra-thin (~few-nanometer) structures with exceptionally high aspect ratios
🛡️ Enhanced resistance to oxidation and long-term stability under ambient conditions
🔍 Direct visualization of non-classical crystallization pathways enabled by controlled in situ heating
These findings expand our understanding of how complex nanostructures form. In the video you can see these 2D Cu plates forming in real time!
Want to read the entire paper?
Find it here!
https://www.doi.org/10.1002/smll.202508098
