Thermodynamic analysis of Al clusters formation over aluminum melt

Abstract

The formation of the aluminum nanoparticles with the size of up to 60 atoms in a gas phase is theoretically studied. Thermodynamic modeling has been applied to investigate the effect of the synthesis conditions on the distribution of the nanoparticles. The magic numbers of the particles have been estimated and found to be consistent with the available data. Furthermore, the simulations showed that higher amounts of larger nanoparticles are obtained during condensation from the supercooled aluminum vapor. In contrast, lower amounts of smaller clusters may be formed in a gas phase over the aluminum melt. Varying the temperature and concentration of supercooled aluminum vapor in a broad range results in no significant change in cluster size distribution. This effect is governed by the equilibrium shift.