Modeling the melting temperature of metallic nanocrystals: dependencies on size, dimensionality, and composition

The melting temperature is an extremely important property in describing the stability of metallic nanocrystals and can be modulated by the size, dimensionality, and composition. In this study, a new model was developed to comprehend these effects on the melting temperature by considering the surface stress and the size-dependent surface energy. The developed model predicts a decrease in the melting temperature with decreasing size or dimensionality. Moreover, for nanoalloys with identical size and dimensionality, the model suggests that the melting temperature decreases as the component with lower surface energy increases. Importantly, our model's predictions are consistent with experimental and simulation data, validating its accuracy and universality.