article published yes Taisiia Berestok author Pablo Guardia author Javier Blanco author Raquel Nafria author Pau Torruella author Luis López Conesa author Sònia Estradé author Maria Ibanez Sabate author 43C61214-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A870000-0001-5013-2843 Jonathan De Roo author Zhishan Luo author Doris Cadavid author José Martins author Maksym Kovalenko author Francesca Peiró author Andreu Cabot author Branched nanocrystals (NCs) enable high atomic surface exposure within a crystalline network that provides avenues for charge transport. This combination of properties makes branched NCs particularly suitable for a range of applications where both interaction with the media and charge transport are involved. Herein we report on the colloidal synthesis of branched ceria NCs by means of a ligand-mediated overgrowth mechanism. In particular, the differential coverage of oleic acid as an X-type ligand at ceria facets with different atomic density, atomic coordination deficiency, and oxygen vacancy density resulted in a preferential growth in the [111] direction and thus in the formation of ceria octapods. Alcohols, through an esterification alcoholysis reaction, promoted faster growth rates that translated into nanostructures with higher geometrical complexity, increasing the branch aspect ratio and triggering the formation of side branches. On the other hand, the presence of water resulted in a significant reduction of the growth rate, decreasing the reaction yield and eliminating side branching, which we associate to a blocking of the surface reaction sites or a displacement of the alcoholysis reaction. Overall, adjusting the amounts of each chemical, well-defined branched ceria NCs with tuned number, thickness, and length of branches and with overall size ranging from 5 to 45 nm could be produced. We further demonstrate that such branched ceria NCs are able to provide higher surface areas and related oxygen storage capacities (OSC) than quasi-spherical NCs. American Chemical Society2017 eng 0897-4756 1520-500210.1021/acs.chemmater.7b00896 29104418 - 4424 yes T. Berestok <i>et al.</i>, “Tuning branching in ceria nanocrystals,” <i>Chemistry of Materials</i>, vol. 29, no. 10. American Chemical Society, pp. 4418–4424, 2017. Berestok, Taisiia, Pablo Guardia, Javier Blanco, Raquel Nafria, Pau Torruella, Luis López Conesa, Sònia Estradé, et al. “Tuning Branching in Ceria Nanocrystals.” <i>Chemistry of Materials</i>. American Chemical Society, 2017. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.7b00896">https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.7b00896</a>. Berestok, T., Guardia, P., Blanco, J., Nafria, R., Torruella, P., López Conesa, L., … Cabot, A. (2017). Tuning branching in ceria nanocrystals. <i>Chemistry of Materials</i>. American Chemical Society. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.7b00896">https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.7b00896</a> Berestok T, Guardia P, Blanco J, Nafria R, Torruella P, López Conesa L, Estradé S, Ibáñez M, De Roo J, Luo Z, Cadavid D, Martins J, Kovalenko M, Peiró F, Cabot A. 2017. Tuning branching in ceria nanocrystals. Chemistry of Materials. 29(10), 4418–4424. T. Berestok, P. Guardia, J. Blanco, R. Nafria, P. Torruella, L. López Conesa, S. Estradé, M. Ibáñez, J. De Roo, Z. Luo, D. Cadavid, J. Martins, M. Kovalenko, F. Peiró, A. Cabot, Chemistry of Materials 29 (2017) 4418–4424. Berestok T, Guardia P, Blanco J, et al. Tuning branching in ceria nanocrystals. <i>Chemistry of Materials</i>. 2017;29(10):4418-4424. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.7b00896">10.1021/acs.chemmater.7b00896</a> Berestok, Taisiia, et al. “Tuning Branching in Ceria Nanocrystals.” <i>Chemistry of Materials</i>, vol. 29, no. 10, American Chemical Society, 2017, pp. 4418–24, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.7b00896">10.1021/acs.chemmater.7b00896</a>. 3752018-12-11T11:46:07Z2024-03-05T12:19:17Z