Nucleation of quartz under ambient conditions

Quartz nucleation normally requires harsh conditions; for instance, hydrothermal processes at 200-300 degrees C and 15-100 bar, where the high growth rate precludes selective formation of nanometer-sized quartz. Under ambient conditions, even quartz growth is considered to occur exceedingly slowly, requiring yearly timescales. Here we show that nanoquartz of size 1-5 nm can be nucleated from microemulsions under ambient conditions within 2 days. The nanoquartz particles are grown and annealed under mild hydrothermal conditions of 175 degrees C and autogenic pressure. This enables nanoquartz of size < 10 nm and controllable structure to be obtained exclusively. Surface defects play a key role in determining the catalytic properties of the nanoquartz. Consequently, a similar two-stage microemulsion-hydrothermal synthesis strategy could provide significant benefits in optimizing nanocrystal catalysts.