Formation mechanisms of uniform nanocrystals via hot-injection and heat-up methods.

Synthesis of uniform nanocrystals is very important because the size uniformity of an ensemble of nanocrystals is directly related to the homogeneity of their chemical and physical properties. Classical theory suggests that burst nucleation and diffusion-controlled growth are the most important factors for the control of the size distribution in colloidal synthesis. In the last two decades, the numerous reports on the synthesis of uniform nanocrystals have popularized two major synthetic methods, namely, hot-injection and heat-up, to obtain uniform nanocrystals of various materials including metals, semiconductors, and oxides. Mechanistic studies on how such uniform nanocrystals are obtained in those two methods are reviewed and theoretical explanations are provided in the current review.