Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol.134, No.4, 2004-2007, 2012
An Unconventional Role of Ligand in Continuously Tuning of Metal-Metal Interfacial Strain
We show that embedding of a surface ligand can dramatically affect the metal metal interfacial energy, making it possible to create nanostructures in defiance of traditional wisdom. Despite matching Au-Ag lattices, Au-Ag hybrid NPs can be continuously tuned from concentric core-shell, eccentric core shell, acorn, to dimer structures. This method can be extended to tune even Au-Au and Ag-Ag interfaces.