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Definition: Colloidal metal nanoparticles in an electrolyte environment are not only electrically charged but also electrochemically active objects. They have the typical character of metal electrodes with ongoing charge transfer processes on the metal/liquid interface. This picture is valid for the equilibrium state and also during the formation, growth, aggregation or dissolution of nanoparticles. This behavior can be understood in analogy to macroscopic mixed-electrode systems with a free- floating potential, which is determined by the competition between anodic and cathodic partial processes. In contrast to macroscopic electrodes, the small size of nanoparticles is responsible for significant effects of low numbers of elementary charges and for self-polarization effects as they are known from molecular systems, for example. The electrical properties of nanoparticles can be estimated by basic electrochemical equations. Reconsidering these fundamentals, the assembly behavior, the formation of nonspherical assemblies of nanoparticles and the growth and the corrosion behavior of metal nanoparticles, as well as the formation of core/shell particles, branched structures and particle networks, can be understood. The consequences of electrochemical behavior, charging and self-polarization for particle growth, shape formation and particle/particle interaction are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Front Cover: Metal Nano Networks by Potential-Controlled In Situ Assembling of Gold/Silver Nanoparticles (ChemistryOpen 12/2019) B The Front Cover b shows an overlay of an image of a metal nanoparticle network (blue) and sets of non-spherical metal nanoparticles of different shapes (yellow). The character of these particles can be controlled by modulating particle/particle interaction by concentration of ligands and reducing agents during the reductive deposition of silver on preformed gold nanoparticles. [Extracted from the article]