Nucleation and growth of monodisperse silica nanoparticles.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 24499132.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1021/nl404550d.
- No licence information is recorded for this record.
- Because redistribution is not established, this page shows the abstract only. Follow the links below for the full text.
Abstract
Although monodisperse amorphous silica nanoparticles have been widely investigated, their formation mechanism is still a topic of debate. Here, we demonstrate the formation of monodisperse nanoparticles from colloidally stabilized primary particles, which at a critical concentration undergo a concerted association process, concomitant with a morphological and structural collapse. The formed assemblies grow further by addition of primary particles onto their surface. The presented mechanism, consistent with previously reported observations, reconciles the different theories proposed to date.