Comparison of Different Models of Size-Dependent Thermodynamic Properties of Nanoparticles

Abstract

Surface and thermodynamic properties, such as enthalpy, cohesive energy, surface energy and melting point, of different materials (Ag, Au, Sn and In) were calculated theoretically in this study by using the following two models: firstly, the lattice vibration-based model (LVB) of surface atoms and secondly, the surface-to-volume atom ratio (SVA) model of the free surface nanoparticle material. In this work, the melting temperature and other thermodynamic properties of the modified model of the nanoparticles improved the calculated curve compared with that of the experimental data due to the effect of lattice volume. Results of the two models showed changes in all thermodynamic properties as nanoparticle size decreased. Moreover, compared with the experimental data, a good agreement was observed between the modified LVB model and the experimental data.
Keywords: Cohesive energy, Enthalpy, Melting point, Surface energy, Nanoparticles, Size effects.
PACS: 67.25.bd, 65.80.-g.