Pulsed Laser-Assisted Phase Engineering of Multimetallic Colloidal Nanocrystals With Complex Compositions

The controlled fabrication of colloidal nanocrystals with complex compositions has become one of the most active areas of research in nanomaterials science. In this context, pulsed lasers are emerging as valuable tools to facilitate the mixing of different elements within a single nanocrystal lattice by helping overcome both thermodynamic and kinetic barriers. In this review, we aim to establish the fundamental aspects that control the formation of solid-solution nanocrystals through alloying of various metals, with a primary focus on colloid science strategies, given their potential to produce low size dispersity and well-defined spherical shape. We discuss two distinct laser-assisted methods for implementing pulsed lasers: pulsed-laser ablation in liquids and the excitation of presynthesized colloidal nanocrystals. We introduce the most critical laser and colloidal parameters that are essential toward obtaining multimetallic nanocrystals with well-defined sizes, compositions, and homogeneous elemental distributions. Finally, we examine the key challenges that need to be addressed to achieve improved control over phase and composition in multimetallic nanocrystals.