Size-dependent thermodynamic and electronic properties of individual nanometer-size supported gold clusters

摘要

Field emission techniques devised to measure the melting temperature and electronic structure of individual, nanometer-size clusters supported on electrically conducting substrates are reviewed. Data on the size-dependent reduction in melting temperature of Au cluster are compared to existing thermodynamic descriptions and molecular dynamic calculations. Data on the electronic structure of an individual 1nm Au cluster are compared to the predictions of simple electron shell models for cluster electronic states.