Preparation of ET2I3 nanocrystals

Preparation of nanocrystals of a molecular metal bis(ethylenedithio)tetrath iafulvalene (ET) iodine salt ET2I3 is described. The methods used were rapi d precipitation, crystallisation in microemulsion and rapid solidification of solutions with subsequent sublimation of the solvent. The thickness of o btained nanocrystals was 10-20 nm but their average length was about 200 nm . The smallest and the most uniform nanocrystals were obtained using rapid solidification. The mechanisms that impose lower limit on the nanocrystal s ize are discussed. It is argued that width and length can not be considerab ly reduced because of high aspect ratio of equilibrium form of the crystals .