Benjamin W Jacobs et al 2011 Nanotechnology 22 375601 doi:10.1088/0957-4484/22/37/375601
Benjamin W Jacobs1, Ronald J T Houk1, Bryan M Wong1, A Alec Talin2 and Mark D Allendorf1
Show affiliationsWe demonstrate a versatile, bottom-up method of forming metal and semiconducting nanoparticles by exposing precursor metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) to an electron beam. Using a transmission electron microscope to initiate and observe growth, we show that the composition, size, and morphology of the nanoparticles are determined by the chemistry and structure of the MOF, as well as the electron beam properties. Zinc oxide, metallic indium and copper particles were produced with narrow and tunable size distributions comparable to those obtained from state-of-the-art methods. This method represents a first step toward the fabrication of nanoscale heterostructures using the highly controlled environment of the MOF pores as a scaffold or template.
81.07.Bc Nanocrystalline materials
61.05.J- Electron diffraction and scattering
07.78.+s Electron, positron, and ion microscopes; electron diffractometers
Instrumentation and measurement
Surfaces, interfaces and thin films
Issue 37 (16 September 2011)
Received 18 May 2011, in final form 16 July 2011
Published 18 August 2011
Benjamin W Jacobs et al 2011 Nanotechnology 22 375601