Continuous Phase Transformation in Nanocube Assemblies

Yugang Zhang, Fang Lu, Daniel van der Lelie, and Oleg Gang

Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 135701 – Published 21 September 2011

Abstract

The phase behavior of 3D assemblies of nanocubes in a ligand-rich solution upon solvent evaporation was experimentally investigated using small-angle x-ray scattering and electron microscopy. We observed a continuous transformation of assemblies between simple cubic and rhombohedral phases, where a variable angle of rhombohedral structure is determined by ligand thickness. We established a quantitative relationship between the particle shape evolution from cubes to quasispheres and the lattice distortion during the transformation, with a pathway exhibiting the highest known packing.

Received 26 February 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.135701

Authors & Affiliations

Yugang Zhang¹, Fang Lu¹, Daniel van der Lelie^2,*, and Oleg Gang^1,†

¹Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, USA
²Biology Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, USA

^*Current address: Center for Agricultural and Environmental Biotechnology, Research Triangle Institute International, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2194, USA.
^†ogang@bnl.gov