Mixing an Aqueous Suspension of Pd or Au Nanocrystals with a Less Polar Solvent Can Cause Changes to Size, Morphology, or Both

Easy control: Small Pd and Au nanocrystals exhibited a drastic change in size and/or morphology when their aqueous suspensions were mixed with a solvent (e.g., acetone or tetrahydrofuran) less polar than water. The morphological changes occurred through particle coalescence, which was triggered by the abrupt reduction in colloidal stability upon partial solvent exchange.