Morphological Evolution of In 2 O 3 Crystallites by Metallothermal Reaction Growth: A Unified Elucidation

Metallothermal reaction growth of In 2 O 3 nanocrystals via chemical vapor deposition technique gave rise to different morphologies, ranging from octahedron to triamond triangular frustum and their corresponding truncated variants. The formation of these polyhedral crystalline structures was triggered by high local temperature and supersaturation ratios generated by the intensive exothermic reactions at the source. There are several distinct co-playing forces at work: kinetic and thermodynamic effects in the gas phase and surface nucleation and growth on the Si(111) substrate. The experimentally observed shape evolution and size variation can be rationalized in terms of a unified mechanism.