Figure 1.

Seeded-growth under high (A) and low (B) supersaturation condition. Homogenous nucleation represents the upper-limit to heterogeneous nucleation. At low supersaturation, the overall interfacial energy (Δγ = γ_{nuclei/solution} + γ_i – γ_{seed/solution}, with γ_i = interfacial tension) defines the topology of the hybrid structure that, under high interfacial strain, may result in segregated phases (Δγ < 0) or island-like structures (Δγ > 0, Volmer-Weber growth mode). The grey dodecahedral shape NP represents the TiO₂ NC seeds while the orange structures represent the PbS NCs.