  We investigate the mechanism of growth of nanocrystals from solution using
the case of ZnO. Spanning a wide range of values of the parameters, such as the
temperature and the reactant concentration, that control the growth, our
results establish a qualitative departure from the widely accepted diffusion
controlled coarsening (Ostwald ripening) process quantified in terms of the
Lifshitz-Slyozov-Wagner theory. Further, we show that these experimental
observations can be qualitatively and quantitatively understood within a growth
mechanism that is intermediate between the two well-defined limits of diffusion
control and kinetic control.
