Nanocrystals: Restructuring and Remodeling of NaREF₄ Nanocrystals by Electron Irradiation (Small 22/2014)

NaREF4 nanocrystals are found by Y. Hou, M. Y. Gao, and co-workers to be highly manipulable by electron beam irradiation. On page 4711, light elements such as F and Na in both spherical and ellipsoidal NaREF4 nanocrystals are knocked out of the crystal, while the RE elements are heavily displaced due to their higher binding energies. Therefore, the ejection of light elements leaves a hollow structure, and the NaREF4 nanoparticles eventually convert to the corresponding REF3 upon prolonged irradiation.