Palanivel Maheswari, Nataraj Devaraj, Thrupthika Thankappan, Ramya Subramaniam, Premkumar Sellan, Thangadurai T Daniel
Quantum Materials & Devices Laboratory, Department of Physics, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641046, India.
UGC-CPEPA Centre for Advanced Studies in Physics for the Development of Solar Energy Materials and Devices, Department of Physics, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641046, India.
ACS Omega. 2024 May 21;9(22):24060-24070. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.4c02952. eCollection 2024 Jun 4.
Nonclassical crystallization represents an innovative pathway that utilizes nanoparticles, enabling the generation of single crystals, going beyond a classical mechanism dependent on atoms, ions, or molecules. Our investigation has revealed hierarchical structures emerging via the aggregation and fusion of primary silicon quantum dots (SiQDs). In contrast to the classical ion-by-ion crystallization process, the primary SiQDs initially undergo aggregation, followed by fusion and their subsequent crystallization, leading to the ultrafast crystal growth of sodium hexafluorosilicate (SHFS) microrods with diverse morphologies. A comprehensive fluorescence microscopy study is performed to examine the mechanism of microrod formation through the primary aggregation and fusion of SiQDs at room temperature in the presence of hydrogen fluoride (HF). The different concentrations of HF play a crucial role in the formation of flower-, block-, and hexagonal-shaped SHFS microrods. However, the presence of a high-concentration HF causes a reduction in microrod size, elucidated through a range of analytical and spectroscopic techniques.
非经典结晶代表了一种创新途径，它利用纳米颗粒，能够生成单晶，超越了依赖原子、离子或分子的经典机制。我们的研究揭示了通过初级硅量子点（SiQDs）的聚集和融合而出现的分层结构。与经典的逐个离子结晶过程不同，初级SiQDs首先进行聚集，然后融合并随后结晶，导致形成具有不同形态的六氟硅酸钠（SHFS）微棒的超快晶体生长。进行了全面的荧光显微镜研究，以研究在室温下氟化氢（HF）存在下通过SiQDs的初级聚集和融合形成微棒的机制。不同浓度的HF在花状、块状和六边形SHFS微棒的形成中起着关键作用。然而，通过一系列分析和光谱技术阐明，高浓度HF的存在会导致微棒尺寸减小。
