Single-crystal metal nanoplatelets: Cobalt, nickel, copper, and silver

In this paper, single-crystal metallic nanoplatelets, such as cobalt, nickel, copper, and silver, have been successfully synthesized based on a facile hydrothermal/solvothermal synthetic method. The as-prepared cobalt nanoplatelets had the {001} crystal facets as the basal plane, while the exposed nanoplatelet planes were assigned to be {111} crystal facets of the face-centered cubic nickel, copper, and silver crystals. Owing to the interesting combination of novel nanostructures, remarkable magnetic anisotropy was found on the cobalt and nickel nanoplatelets. The anisotropic copper and silver nanoplatelets exhibited a distinct surface plasmon resonance effect. These metallic nanoplatelets could be expected to bring new opportunities in the vast research areas of and application in magnetic storage devices, catalysts, and surface-enhanced Raman scattering.