Growing metal nanocrystals atom by atom

New Scientist : A new method to not only grow crystals from single metal atoms but also watch them grow in real time has been developed by Nicolas Barry of the University of Warwick and coworkers. In their paper published in Nature Communications, they describe how they fired a beam of electrons at a thin film of molecules containing osmium, carbon, and other elements. The beam caused the osmium atoms to break free and the remaining material to fuse into a graphene matrix, on which the atoms formed three-dimensional nanocrystals. Impurities in the graphene slowed the motion of the metal atoms enough that they could be observed by electron microscopes in real time. By better understanding how crystals form, the researchers hope to one day be able to create customized crystals for use in numerous fields, including medicine, industrial manufacturing, construction, and space exploration.