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Metallic Solids

Metallic Solids

Metallic solids such as crystals of copper, aluminum, and iron are formed by metal atoms. The structure of metallic crystals is often described as a uniform distribution of atomic nuclei within a “sea” of delocalized electrons. The atoms within such a metallic solid are held together by a unique force known as metallic bonding that gives rise to many useful and varied bulk properties.
All metallic solids exhibit high thermal and electrical conductivity, metallic luster, and malleability. Many...

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Iron Nanowire Fabrication by Nano-Porous Anodized Aluminum and its Characterization

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Shell structures in aluminum nanocontacts at elevated temperatures.

José Luis Costa-Krämer¹, Natalia León, Carlo Guerrero

¹IMM-Instituto de Microelectrónica de Madrid (CNM-CSIC), Isaac Newton 8, PTM, Tres Cantos, Madrid, E-28760, Spain. jl.costa.kramer@imm.cnm.csic.es.

Nanoscale Research Letters

|February 14, 2012

Summary

Aluminum nanocontact conductance reveals a shift from shell to ionic subshell structures with increasing diameter. These structures are temperature-independent until near the melting point, where stability decreases.

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Area of Science:

Condensed Matter Physics
Materials Science
Nanotechnology

Background:

Understanding atomic configurations in metal nanocontacts is crucial for predicting their electrical properties.
Previous studies have explored nanocontact structures, but systematic investigations across a wide temperature range are limited.

Purpose of the Study:

To experimentally investigate the conductance histograms of aluminum nanocontacts.
To determine the stable atomic configurations and their evolution with wire diameter and temperature.
To analyze the crossover from shell structures to ionic subshell structures in aluminum nanocontacts.

Main Methods:

Experimental measurement of conductance histograms for aluminum nanocontacts.
Systematic variation of nanocontact diameter.
Temperature-dependent measurements from room temperature up to near the bulk melting point of aluminum.

Main Results:

A distinct crossover from shell structures to ionic subshell structures was observed as nanocontact diameter increased.
At larger diameters, the favorable ionic subshell structures (faceted, face-centered cubic) were found to be temperature-independent.
Approaching the bulk melting temperature, the peak structure in conductance histograms became less pronounced, indicating reduced local stability.

Conclusions:

Aluminum nanocontacts exhibit predictable structural transitions from shell to ionic subshell configurations with increasing size.
The observed ionic subshell structures are robust and largely unaffected by temperature until thermal fluctuations become significant near the melting point.
The study provides insights into the fundamental atomic arrangements governing the electrical transport properties of metal nanocontacts.