Micro- and nano-particles with variable surface morphologies and methods of making same

1. A method of making a multilayer metal particle having an irregular surface architecture, the method comprising:

introducing a molten eutectic metal alloy into a solution to produce a eutectic-solvent mixture;

shearing the eutectic-solvent mixture for a sufficient period of time to induce surface tension driven phase segregation in the molten eutectic metal alloy to produce an irregular surface architecture on the eutectic metal alloy;

allowing the molten eutectic metal alloy to precipitate to produce a plurality of particles;

allowing the plurality of particles to oxidize in the presence of an oxidizer; and

functionalizing the particles with an organic species to form an organic layer to produce a multilayer metal particle having an irregular surface architecture.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the period of time for shearing is in the range of about 5 minutes to about 30 minutes.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein functionalizing the particles comprises functionalizing the particles with a carboxylate species.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the carboxylate species comprises acetate.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the solution comprises acetic acid.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the solution comprises acetic acid and a solvent having a boiling point below 250° C. to produce a 5% acetic acid solution.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the solvent comprises one of water or diethylene glycol.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the molten eutectic metal alloy is a three-component alloy with a melting point below 200° C.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the molten eutectic metal alloy comprises Field's metal having 32.5% bismuth, 51% indium, and 16.5% tin by weight.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising drying the particles to induce the formation of self-assembled aggregated particles.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising heating the eutectic-solvent mixture before shearing.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising heating the eutectic-solvent mixture to a temperature in a range of from about 95° C. to about 160° C.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising cooling the mixture to room temperature during the shearing step.

14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising milling the multilayer particle into a desired shape.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein milling comprises subjecting the multilayer particle to a focused ion beam.

16. A multilayer nano- or micro-particle comprising at least three metals and having an irregular surface architecture.

17. The multilayer particle of claim 16 , wherein the multilayer particle comprises an interior core, a surrounding oxide layer, and a surface organic layer.

18. The multilayer particle of claim 17 , wherein the irregular surface architecture comprises at least one of the following: a lamellar texture, a smooth woven texture, a rough solid texture, a rough porous surface, and a porous texture.

19. The multilayer particle of claim 17 , wherein the multilayer particle comprises bismuth, indium, and tin.

20. The multilayer particle of claim 19 , wherein the multilayer particle comprises Field's metal.

21. The multilayer particle of claim 20 , wherein the oxide layer comprises at least one of indium oxide and tin oxide.

22. The multilayer particle of claim 17 , wherein the surface organic layer comprises acetate or a carboxylate species.

23. The multilayer particle of claim 22 , wherein the carboxylate species comprises acetate.

24. The multilayer particle of claim 17 , wherein the oxide layer has a thickness of at least about 0.7 nm.

25. A pharmaceutical agent or a catalyst comprising the multilayer particle of claim 16 .