What is "nanocrystal"

n. A crystalline entity whose size is measured in nanometers; an individual nanometer-sized crystal of such a material.

A nanocrystal is a material particle having at least one dimension smaller than 100 nanometres (a nanoparticle) and composed of atoms in either a single- or poly- crystalline arrangement.

The size of nanocrystals distinguishes them from larger crystals. For example, silicon nanocrystals can provide efficient light emission while bulk silicon does not and may be used for memory components.

When embedded in solids, nanocrystals may exhibit much more complex melting behaviour than conventional solids and may form the basis of a special class of solids. They can behave as single-domain systems (a volume within the system having the same atomic or molecular arrangement throughout) that can help explain the behaviour of macroscopic samples of a similar material without the complicating presence of grain boundaries and other defects.

Semiconductor nanocrystals having dimensions smaller than 10 nm are also described as quantum dots.