Pressure-Induced Oriented Attachment Growth of Large-Size Crystals for Constructing 3D Ordered Superstructures
Jun Wang, Gang Lian,* Haibin Si, Qilong Wang, Deliang Cui,* and Ching-Ping Wong*

ACS Nano 2016, 10, 405-412

Abstract

Oriented attachment (OA), a non-classical crystal growth mechanism, provides a powerful bottom-up approach to obtain ordered superstructures, which also demonstrate exciting charge transmission characteristic. However, there is little work observably pronouncing the achievement of 3D OA growth of crystallites with large size (e.g., sub-micrometer crystals). Here, we report that SnO₂ 3D ordered superstructures can be synthesized by means of a self-limited assembly assisted by OA in a designed high pressure solvothermal system. The size of primary building blocks is 200-250 nm, which is significantly larger than that in previous results (normally <10 nm). High pressure plays the key role in the formation of 3D configuration and fusion of adjacent crystals. Furthermore, this high-pressure strategy can be readily expanded to additional materials. We anticipate that the welded structures will constitute an ideal system with relevance to applications in optical responses, lithium ion battery, solar cells, and chemical sensing.