Crystalline-Amorphous Heterostructure: A Novel Configuration for Silver Nanoclusters

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Chemistry

Background:

• Heterostructured composite materials offer enhanced properties.
• Fabricating heterostructures with atomic-precise metal nanoclusters (NCs) is challenging due to NC instability.
• Existing methods struggle with NC decomposition during heterostructure formation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report the discovery of a novel amorphous-crystalline heterostructured silver nanocluster material.
• To investigate the formation mechanism of this unique heterostructure.
• To provide insights into the co-assembly of distinct silver nanoclusters.

Main Methods:

• Spontaneous formation of heterostructured Ag40@Ag12.
• Observation of a three-stage formation process: crystallization, partial decomposition, and epitaxial growth.
• Analysis of the self-sacrifice mechanism of Ag40 NCs.

Main Results:

• Discovery of a spontaneously formed amorphous-crystalline Ag40@Ag12 heterostructure.
• Identification of three key stages in the formation process.
• Demonstration that partially decomposed Ag40 NCs serve as precursors for Ag12 NC crystallization.

Conclusions:

• A novel class of heterostructured materials composed of distinct silver nanoclusters has been synthesized.
• The formation mechanism involves the self-sacrifice of amorphous Ag40 NCs to facilitate the growth of crystalline Ag12 NCs.
• This study offers new perspectives on the macroscopic co-assembly of different metal nanoclusters.