Hydrothermal synthesis, assembly and functionalization of surface-modified metal oxide nanocrystals

Abstract

Metal oxides have various properties including magnetism, ferroelectricity, and luminescence. In addition, most oxides are safe and stable in air and water. Due to these practical merits, various metal oxides are used in functional devices. We believe that the use of metal oxide nanocrystals should widen the application of metal oxides because nanocrystals enable incorporation of the functions of metal oxides to various materials such as polymers, solvents and biological molecules. We studied the hydrothermal synthesis of metal oxide nanocrystals and their surface modification, which facilitates the handling and hybridization of the produced metal oxide nanocrystals.