Nanocrystals as Precursors in Solid-State Reactions for Size- and Shape-Controlled Polyelemental Nanomaterials

Solid-state reactions between micrometer-size powders are among the oldest, simplest, and still widely used methods for the fabrication of inorganic solids. These reactions are intrinsically slow because, although the precursorsare "well mixed" at the macroscale, they are highly inhomogeneous at the atomic level. Furthermore, their products are bulk powders that are not suitable for device integration. Herein, we substitute micrometer-size particles with nanocrystals. Scaling down the size of the precursors reduces the reaction time and temperature. More importantly, the final products are nanocrystals with controlled size and shape that can be used as active materials in various applications, including electro- and photocatalysis. The assembly of the nanocrystal precursors as ordered close-packed superlattices enables microscopy studies that deepen the understanding of the solid-state reaction mechanism. We learn that having only one of the two nanocrystal precursors dissolving and diffusing toward the other is crucial to obtain a final nanocrystalline product with homogeneous size and shape. The latter are regulated by the nanocrystal precursor that is the most stable at the reaction temperature. Considering the variety of controlled nanocrystals available, our findings open a new avenue for the synthesis of functional and tunable polyelemental nanomaterials.