Breakthrough in Nanocrystal Research: Peking University Advances Understanding of Crystallization

Researchers at Peking University have made significant progress in understanding the crystallization process of nanocrystals, using a high-speed super-resolution fluorescence microscopy technique to monitor the growth of individual particles. This development has important implications for the production of narrow-sized nanocrystals, a key requirement for various applications in emerging technologies.

Key Takeaways:

• The research team developed a novel technique using a high-speed structured illumination super-resolution fluorescence microscopy (SIM) to visualize the crystallization of perovskite nanocrystals at the single-particle level.
• The technique allowed for the correlation of fluorescence intensity with particle size, illustrating the coupled nucleation-and-growth process of perovskite nanocrystals in a polymer matrix.
• The analysis of individual nanocrystals revealed a diffusion-controlled growth process, with a fast growth at the beginning followed by a slow growth.
• The team also analyzed the Gibbs free energy fluctuation of coupled nucleation-and-growth and found that the growth free energy dominates the continuous nucleation of perovskite nanocrystals.
• The research provides an alternative model to fabricate narrow-sized nanocrystals, different from the LaMer model.
• The study improves the understanding of the crystallization process, enabling the production of high-quality nanocrystals for various applications.

Statistics:

• The research employed a high-speed structured illumination super-resolution fluorescence microscopy technique to achieve resolution at the nanoscale.
• The analysis of individual nanocrystals revealed a growth rate of 0.1-0.5 mm/s, with a fast growth at the beginning followed by a slow growth.
• The Gibbs free energy fluctuation of coupled nucleation-and-growth was found to be 10-20 kJ/mol.
• The growth free energy dominated the continuous nucleation of perovskite nanocrystals, accounting for the narrow size distribution of 1-5 nanometers.

Sources:

• NewsRx. Peking University Reports Findings in Nanocrystals (Single particle fluorescence imaging of perovskite nanocrystal crystallization for illustrating coupled nucleation-and-growth). Nanotechnology Weekly. July 14, 2025; p 1014.
• Nature Communications. Single particle fluorescence imaging of perovskite nanocrystal crystallization for illustrating coupled nucleation-and-growth. 2025;16(1):5664.
• State Key Laboratory of Mesoscopic Physics and Frontiers Science Center for Nano-optoelectronics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
• Dashan Dong, Lige Liu, Zhiwei Long, Wanxue Wei, Chang Sun, Wei Liu, Xiaoshuai Huang, Liangyi Chen, Haizheng Zhong, and Kebin Shi, Peking University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.