Size effect on thermodynamic properties of free nanocrystals

TL;DR

This paper investigates how the size of free nanocrystals influences their thermodynamic properties and melting points, attributing these effects to the discrete vibrational spectrum, using a self-consistent statistical approach.

Contribution

It introduces a self-consistent statistical method to analyze size-dependent thermodynamic properties of nanocrystals, specifically applied to copper plates.

Findings

Thermodynamic properties vary with nanocrystal size.

Melting temperature decreases as nanocrystal size diminishes.

Discrete vibrational spectra explain size effects.

Abstract

We demonstrate that the discrete character of the vibrational spectrum of a small crystal accounts for size dependence of its thermodynamic properties and melting temperature. Using a self-consistent statistical method [Phys. Rev.B 66, 054302 (2002)] we derive the Gibbs free energy of free nanocrystalline plates and calculate the thermodynamic parameters as functions of plate thickness for Cu.