Anisotropic copper nanocrystals synthesized in a supersaturated medium: nanocrystal growth.

In the chemical reduction of copper ions in mixed reverse micelles it is found that a large excess of reducing agent favors the production of a new generation of copper nanocrystals. At low reducing agent concentration, nanocrystals are mostly spherical, while in the supersaturated regime, they have various shapes such as pentagons, squares, triangles, and elongated forms. The nanocrystal structures, characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, are based on the face-centered cubic structure. A tentative explanation for the growth mechanism of copper nanocrystals having various shapes is proposed.