Doughnut magnesium fluoride nanoparticles prepared by an electron-beam irradiation method

Doughnut magnesium fluoride particles with controllable size (from 6 to 50 nm) and shape (sphere and cube) were successfully prepared using an electron-beam irradiation method. While common reports typically produced doughnut particles in the micrometer range, the present method succeeded in preparing this type of particles with sizes of nanometers. Different from other methods that pointed out the importance of the additional additive and specific process to support the formation of doughnut structure, we preferred exploiting the electron-beam irradiation method that was simpler and free of additive. Transformation of the particle from its original morphology (dense structure) into doughnut shape were also investigated, along with the analysis of irradiation time and elemental composition. Outer sizes and shapes of the final particles were identical to those of the initial particles (before irradiation process), giving a potential way for controlling the size and the shape of the doughnut particles by adjusting the size and the shape of the initial magnesium fluoride particles only.