Crystallization via Oriented Attachment of Nanoclusters with Short-Range Order in Solution

Hao Su, Paul H.H. Bomans, Heiner Friedrich, Yifei Xu (Corresponding author), Nico Sommerdijk

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Many mineral crystallization processes in aqueous solutions involve formation of nanoclusters with short-range order. Their transformation into crystalline products is not well understood. Here we investigate the formation of long-range crystalline order within networks of cobalt-based nanoclusters. High-resolution cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryoTEM) together with NMR and FTIR spectroscopies shows the formation of ∼0.8 nm sized (Co)(NH3)5CO3 complexes at the initial stage. By ligand exchange, those complexes become bridged by CO32-/OH- ligands and form ∼2 nm sized clusters, which subsequently aggregate into sheetlike networks due to the structural heterogeneity of the clusters. By further ligand change and adjustment in cluster orientations, long-range order is established, which leads to the nucleation of ammonium cobalt kambaldaite nanocrystals. Our observations demonstrate that nanoclusters with short-range order can form crystals via an oriented-attachment pathway, which provides new insights into multistep crystallization processes.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1143-1149
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Physical Chemistry C
Volume125
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 4 Jan 2021

Funding

The authors gratefully acknowledge Shell Global Solutions and The Netherlands Association of Scientific Research (NWO) for funding through the CHIPP program. The research of Y.X. was supported by a Leverhulme research project grant (RPG-2017-178). The authors would like to thank Prof. Joseph Patterson (University of California, Irvine) for helpful discussions on the GOx cryoTEM experiments.

FundersFunder number
European Union's Horizon 2020 - Research and Innovation Framework Programme885795

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Crystallization via Oriented Attachment of Nanoclusters with Short-Range Order in Solution'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this