Nanoparticle-mediated nonclassical crystal growth of sodium fluorosilicate nanowires and nanoplates

Abstract

We observed nonclassical crystal growth of the sodium fluorosilicate nanowires, nanoplates, and hierarchical structures through self-assembly and aggregation of primary intermediate nanoparticles. Unlike traditional ion-by-ion crystallization, the primary nanoparticles formed first and their subsequent self-assembly, fusion, and crystallization generated various final crystals. These findings offer direct evidences for the aggregation-based crystallization mechanism. © 2011 Author(s).