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Methods of Ex Situ and In Situ Investigations of Structural Transformations: The Case of Crystallization of Metallic Glasses
Published on: June 7, 2018
Surface specific heats of metal nanocrystals at low temperatures
Haile Lei1, Jun Li, Jiangshan Luo
1Research Center of Laser Fusion, China Academy of Engineering Physics, P.O. Box 919-987, 621900 Mianyang, China. hailelei@caep.ac.cn.
Abstract:
In order to quantitatively explain the enhanced specific heat of metal nanocrystals measured from 4.2 K to 80 K, an analytical expression has been deduced to determine the surface specific heat in nanocrystals, which is proportional to T(2.5) at low temperatures. The consequently calculated specific heat and surface Debye temperature of copper nanocrystals are in good agreement with the experimental data. This explains why the experimental specific heat of copper nanocrystals is enhanced with respect to the bulk and why it exhibits a different feature as a function of temperature from that of the bulk at low temperatures. The first experimental evidence is presented that the spatial dimension of surfaces should be neither pure 2D nor 3D, but between 2D and 3D, due to the effect of atoms in the core of the nanocrystals.
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