Image: Water-driven structure transformation in nanoparticles at room temperature

Caption: A team of researchers at U.C.-Berkeley has shown that 3-nanometer zinc sulfide particles change crystal structure when they get wet, becoming more ordered at room temperature. The team expects to see this surface effect in particles of similar size in other materials. The discovery may even shed light on nanoparticles involved in weathering in natural environments.

Credit: H. Zhang, B. Gilbert, F. Huang, J. Banfield, University of California at Berkeley.

Source: Nature 424, 1025 - 1029 (28 August 2003); doi:10.1038/nature01845 "Water-driven structure transformation in nanoparticles at room temperature" -HENGZHONG ZHANG*, BENJAMIN GILBERT*, FENG HUANG & JILLIAN F. BANFIELD