Chemical Synthesis, Characterization and Properties of Multi‐Element Nanoparticles

Abstract

Multi-element nanoparticles (NPs) consisting of five or more elements have been increasingly studied in the past 5 years. Their emergence is taking materials science one step further because they exhibit superior properties to conventional NPs in a range of respects, including catalysis. This review focuses on the recent progress in multi-element NPs regarding synthesis, especially in regard to chemical synthesis, characterization, and properties. We begin with a brief introduction of the multi-element NPs and an overview of their synthesis methods. Then, we present representative examples of multi-element alloy NPs and ceramic NPs, including oxide NPs prepared by chemical syntheses. This review intends to provide useful insights into the chemical methods that are used to synthesize multi-element NPs, and includes a discussion on the possibilities arising from their use in new functional materials.