On the Conundrum of the Heat Capacityof Metallic Nanoclasters

Abstract

<p>The heat capacity of nanoclusters was investigated using thermodynamics of surfaces, taking into account the surface enthalpy introduced by E. Guggenhein. It is shown that the cluster heat capacity <em>C<sub>p</sub></em> should be greater than the heat capacity of the corresponding bulk phase. However, the ratio should not exceed 50% up to very small clusters containing 100 atoms. Theoretical estimations agree with molecular dynamics results. So, experimental data on metallic nanoclusters and nanostructures demonstrating that <em>C<sub>p</sub></em> exceeds in 2-5 times should be incorrect.</p>