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Download fileTexture and Phase Recognition Analysis of β‑NaYF4 Nanocrystals
journal contribution
posted on 2014-05-29, 00:00 authored by Valerio Voliani, Mauro Gemmi, Laura Francés-Soriano, María González-Béjar, Julia Pérez-PrietoTexture
and phase recognition analysis (TPRA) based on electron
nanodiffraction technique is used to characterize the geometry of
up-conversion nanocrystals (UCNCs) synthesized by the common thermal-decomposition
protocol in the presence of a stoichiometric amount of NH4F. Here, we confirmed experimentally that despite the apparently
different shapes of samples (hexagons, rods, and cubes), all the nanocrystals
are actually β-phase hexagonal prisms. This is of relevance
since many biological features of nanostructures, such as cellular
internalization and cytotoxicity, are governed by their geometry.
In addition, reproducibility in biological experiments is paramount.