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?

Strong Closed-Shell Interactions in Inorganic Chemistry.

Advances in copper complexes as anticancer agents.

Polymeric materials with antimicrobial activity

The challenge of cyclic and acyclic schiff bases and related derivatives

Supramolecular dimer formation through hydrogen bond extensions of carboxylate ligands – Path for magnetic exchange

Copper(i) compounds: classification and analysis of crystallo graphic and structural data

This review summarizes the data for almost six hundred silver coordination and organometallic compounds, with the silver atom occurring in oxidation states of +1, +2, and two examples of +3 in a square-planar environment. The +2 oxidation state is found in digonal, square-planar, tetrahedral and hexa-coordinated environments. The +1 oxidation state is by far the most common in various geometries from two to seven. The nuclearity range from mono- to polynuclear utilizing a variety of ligand types. There are several examples of distortion isomerism, and a few examples of polymerization isomerism. Correlations between bond lengths, bond angles, ligating atom radius and silver oxidation state are discussed.

Silver coordination and organometallic compounds: classification and analysis of crystallographic and structural data

This review summarizes the data for over twelve hundred four - and five - coordinate copper(II) coordination compounds. The four-coordinate derivatives are mostly distorted square-planar. The five-coordinate derivatives are mostly square-pyramidal. The most common ligands are oxygen- and nitrogen- donors. There is a trend for the Cu-L distance to increase with covalent radius of the coordinated atom and also increasing coordination number. There are three types of isomerism - distortion, cis- and trans- and configuration. Several relationships are found and discussed.

Milan Melnik

Papers

Supramolecular dimer formation through hydrogen bond extensions of carboxylate ligands – Path for magnetic exchange

Copper(i) compounds: classification and analysis of crystallo graphic and structural data

Silver coordination and organometallic compounds: classification and analysis of crystallographic and structural data

Copper (ii) coordination compounds: classification and analysis of crystallographic and structural data

Crystal structure, spectral and magnetic characterization of bis(μ-benzoato-O, O′) (dimethylsulphoxide)copper(II)