Mesocrystals as a class of multifunctional materials

Abstract

Mesocrystals that consist of crystallographically aligned individual building blocks and controlled level of porosity in between exhibit unique structures and multifunctional behavior. A large number of mesocrystals have been successfully developed by different growth technologies, and various growth mechanisms are discussed. In addition to various self-assembly and growth techniques, considerable attention has been paid to the formation mechanisms where the crystalline colloidal nanoparticles are assembled into mesocrystals via interparticle forces or physical fields. Owing to their high surface area, controllable level of porosity, crystallinity of subunits, oriented subunit alignment, and elegant 3D network structure, the performance of mesocrystals may be superior to their nanocrystalline, single-crystal, and polycrystalline counterparts. There has been a surge in the number of applications demonstrated for mesocrystals over the past couple of years, showing their great application potential.