Heating-Rate and Particle-Size Effects on Melting Process of Au Nanoparticles
Jixing Chen, Xiaofeng Fan, Jialin Liu, Changzhi Gu, Yunfeng Shi, David J. Singh, Weitao Zheng
Abstract
The atomic mechanisms of the melting process of gold nanoparticles were investigated by molecular dynamics simulations. Melting under a high heating rate is found to be much different from the near equilibrium melting and is a typical overheating process. The melting begins with the formation of a premelting layer near the surface, and the interface of the solid and premelting layer drives the nucleation of the liquid into the interior of nanoparticles. The high heating rate causes solid–liquid coexistence in a large temperature interval. These imply that the melting process can be controlled effectively by different heating ways.
Topics & Concepts
PremeltingNucleationMaterials scienceOverheating (electricity)NanoparticleMelting temperatureMelting pointMelting-point depressionParticle sizeMolecular dynamicsChemical physicsThermodynamicsChemical engineeringNanotechnologyComposite materialChemistryComputational chemistryQuantum mechanicsPhysicsEngineeringnanoparticles nucleation surface interactionsAdvanced Thermodynamics and Statistical MechanicsMaterial Dynamics and Properties