Nanocrystals are fundamental to modern science and technology. Mastery over the shape of a nanocrystal enables control of its properties and enhancement of its usefulness for a given application. Our aim is to present a comprehensive review of current research activities that center on the shape-controlled synthesis of metal nanocrystals. We begin with a brief introduction to nucleation and growth within the context of metal nanocrystal synthesis, followed by a discussion of the possible shapes that a metal nanocrystal might take under different conditions. We then focus on a variety of experimental parameters that have been explored to manipulate the nucleation and growth of metal nanocrystals in solution-phase syntheses in an effort to generate specific shapes. We then elaborate on these approaches by selecting examples in which there is already reasonable understanding for the observed shape control or at least the protocols have proven to be reproducible and controllable. Finally, we highlight a number of applications that have been enabled and/or enhanced by the shape-controlled synthesis of metal nanocrystals. We conclude this article with personal perspectives on the directions toward which future research in this field might take.

Shape‐Controlled Synthesis of Metal Nanocrystals: Simple Chemistry Meets Complex Physics?

The Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of organic azides and alkynes has gained considerable attention in recent years due to the introduction in 2001 of Cu(1) catalysis by Tornoe and Meldal, leading to a major improvement in both rate and regioselectivity of the reaction, as realized independently by the Meldal and the Sharpless laboratories. The great success of the Cu(1) catalyzed reaction is rooted in the fact that it is a virtually quantitative, very robust, insensitive, general, and orthogonal ligation reaction, suitable for even biomolecular ligation and in vivo tagging or as a polymerization reaction for synthesis of long linear polymers. The triazole formed is essentially chemically inert to reactive conditions, e.g. oxidation, reduction, and hydrolysis, and has an intermediate polarity with a dipolar moment of ∼5 D. The basis for the unique properties and rate enhancement for triazole formation under Cu(1) catalysis should be found in the high ∆G of the reaction in combination with the low character of polarity of the dipole of the noncatalyzed thermal reaction, which leads to a considerable activation barrier. In order to understand the reaction in detail, it therefore seems important to spend a moment to consider the structural and mechanistic aspects of the catalysis. The reaction is quite insensitive to reaction conditions as long as Cu(1) is present and may be performed in an aqueous or organic environment both in solution and on solid support.

Cu-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition.

s, or keywords if they used Heck-type chemistry in their syntheses, because it became one of basic tools of organic preparations, a natural way to

http://aether.cmi.ua.ac.be/artikels/Artikels%20Gitte/Artikels/Reviews/Heck%20reactie%20Beletskaya%20%20Chem.%20Rev.%20003009.pdf

The heck reaction as a sharpening stone of palladium catalysis.

/pdf/aryl-aryl-bond-formation-one-century-after-the-discovery-of-1jdyxlkwix.pdf

Aryl-aryl bond formation one century after the discovery of the Ullmann reaction.

Efficient and reliable amplification of chirality has borne its greatest fruit with transition metal-catalyzed reactions since enantiocontrol may often be imposed by replacing an achiral or chiral racemic ligand with one that is chiral and scalemic While the most thoroughly developed enantioselective transition metal-catalyzed reactions are those involving transfer of oxygen (epoxidation and dihydroxylation)1,2 and molecular hydrogen,3 the focus of this review is on the area of enantioselective transition metal-catalyzed allylic alkylations which may involve C-C as well as C-X (X ) H or heteroatom) bond formation4-9 The synthetic utility of transitionmetal-catalyzed allylic alkylations has been soundly demonstrated since its introduction nearly three decades ago10-21 In contrast to processes where the allyl moiety acts as the nucleophilic partner, we will limit our discussion to processes which result in nucleophilic displacements on allylic substrates (eq 1) Such reactions have been recorded with a broad

http://web4.uwindsor.ca/users/j/jlichaa/reference.nsf/0/10ff8b04ff3a317885256d88005720f6/$FILE/cr-1996-96-395-allylpd-asym.pdf

Asymmetric Transition Metal-Catalyzed Allylic Alkylations.

This review provides an analysis of asymmetric organometallic-catalyzed reactions in aqueous media. The different methodologies for the preparation of chiral water-soluble ligands, and more particularly phosphorus derivatives, are summarized. The applications of these ligands in association with organometallic complexes in water only, as well as other conditions such as reaction in water in the presence of surfactants or in mixtures of water+organic solvents are described. Although asymmetric hydrogenation is one of the most studied catalyzed reactions in aqueous media, some preliminary results concerning asymmetric carbonylation, alkylation, oxidation, cyclopropanation, Diels–Alder reaction, and aldol reaction have appeared in the literature.

Denis Sinou

Papers

Asymmetric Organometallic‐Catalyzed Reactions in Aqueous Media

Chiral sulfonated phosphines. Syntheses and use as ligands in asymmetric hydrogenation using an aqueous-organic two-phase solvent system

An efficient palladium-catalysed coupling of terminal alkynes with aryl halides under jeffery's conditions

Stereo- and Regioselectivity in Palladium-Catalyzed Allylic Etherification

Palladium(0)-based approach to functionalized C-glycopyranosides