Using compressive mechanical forces, such as pressure,
to induce
crystallographic phase transitions and mesostructural changes while
modulating material properties in nanoparticles (NPs) is a unique
way to discover new phase behaviors, create novel nanostructures,
and study emerging properties that are difficult to achieve under
conventional conditions. In recent decades, NPs of a plethora of chemical
compositions, sizes, shapes, surface ligands, and self-assembled mesostructures
have been studied under pressure by in-situ scattering and/or spectroscopy
techniques. As a result, the fundamental knowledge of pressure–structure–property
relationships has been significantly improved, leading to a better
understanding of the design guidelines for nanomaterial synthesis.
In the present review, we discuss experimental progress in NP high-pressure
research conducted primarily over roughly the past four years on semiconductor
NPs, metal and metal oxide NPs, and perovskite NPs. We focus on the
pressure-induced behaviors of NPs at both the atomic- and mesoscales,
inorganic NP property changes upon compression, and the structural
and property transitions of perovskite NPs under pressure. We further
discuss in depth progress on molecular modeling, including simulations
of ligand behavior, phase-change chalcogenides, layered transition
metal dichalcogenides, boron nitride, and inorganic and hybrid organic–inorganic
perovskites NPs. These models now provide both mechanistic explanations
of experimental observations and predictive guidelines for future
experimental design. We conclude with a summary and our insights on
future directions for exploration of nanomaterial phase transition,
coupling, growth, and nanoelectronic and photonic properties.