Shape Selection in Synthesis of Colloids and Nanoparticles

We address a long-standing problem in colloid and nanoparticle science: particle shape selection in solution synthesis. Our main finding is that a proper balance of two processes, preferential attachment of transported monomers at the protruding features of the growing cluster and monomer rearrangement at the cluster surface, can yield a well-defined particle shape for a large interval of times, and persisting for sizes much larger than the original seed.