Growth of highly crystalline nickel particles by diffusional capture of atoms.

We report a new approach to achieve growth of highly crystalline nickel nanoparticles over an extended range of sizes (up to 100 nm in diameter) and time scales (up to several hours) by diffusional transport of constituent atoms. The experimental procedure presented offers control of the morphology of the resulting particles and yields base metal nanocrystals suitable for epitaxial deposition of noble metal shells and the preparation of materials with improved catalytic properties. The reported precipitation system also provides a good model for testing a diffusion-driven growth mechanism developed specifically for the reduction process described.