Oriented attachment induces fivefold twins by forming and decomposing high-energy grain boundaries

Finding the fivefold path Crystals formed in nature or synthesized in a lab can have domains with different orientations that are called twins. Having five of these domains is relatively common, but how these fivefold twins form is still a mystery. Song et al. combined in situ transmission electron microscope observations with simulations to find two different pathways for forming fivefold twins in gold, platinum, and palladium nanoparticles. This combination provides a key insight into the twin-forming process, which might be exploited for developing nanoparticles suitable for a variety of applications. Science , this issue p. 40