Design and solution syntheses of ordered and hierarchical nanostructures
by Tian, Z. Ryan; Zhang, T.; Konar, S.; Dong, W.
Great efforts are currently devoted to the synthesis of new nanomaterials with controlled morphologies and spatial organizations. Here we report new solution syntheses of ordered and hierarchical semiconducting nanostructures. Strategies integrated in our synthetic exploitations include the self-assembly, selective surface nucleation, directional growth, and selective dissolutions Evolutions of one-, two-, and three-dimensional nanostructures have been systematically investigated. Fundamentals, including the roles of the surface modifiers in controlling the growths of these nanostructures, have been tackled. On this basis, tubular, plate- and wire-like nanostructures have been rationally used as new building blocks for constructing highly ordered complex and hierarchical materials that show unusual application potentials in catalysis, sensing, energy conversion and storage, and nanodevices.