The role of twin boundary and surface energies in periodically twinned 〈111〉 nanowires

Abstract Periodic twins are an intrinsic structural feature of some types of chemically synthesized metallic nanowires but not others. A model that accounts for this well-known observation is presented. The model considers the influence of twin boundary energy and surface energy on nanowire growth kinetics, and it was tested using high-resolution electron microscopy and parallel-nanobeam diffraction data from geometrically identical nanowires of gold and platinum. The effects of twin boundary energy on nanowire growth kinetics can explain the structural difference between the gold and platinum nanowires without the need to speculate about the nature of ligand interactions during growth.