Single crystal manganese oxide multipods by oriented attachment.

Nonhydrolytic sol-gel processes in organic solvents have become very popular for the synthesis of metal oxide NCs. We report an affordable, high-yield, shape-control synthesis of MnO multipod nanocrystals with a quick reaction time. The reaction yields exclusively multipods; two to six pod nanocrystals are synthesized. The mechanism leading to this hierarchical nanostructure is studied in relation with an oriented attachment mechanism; all nanocrystals are found to be single crystals. The study is completed by high-resolution TEM, X-ray powder diffraction, and magnetic measurements.