Abstract
The way that small particles melt is a crucial clement in the construction of a thermodynamic treatment of the relation between particle size and melting temperature. There are indications that melting is initiated at the surface and that the solid–liquid interface sweeps rapidly through the solid at the melting temperature. The formal and physical elements of the indicated nucleation and growth criterion for melting are discussed and the existence of upper and lower limits on the melting temperature is outlined. Theoretical predictions show satisfactory agreement with experimental observations.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Couchman, P. R. thesis. Univ. Virginia (1975–1976).
Takagi, M. J. phys. Soc., Japan 9, 359–363 (1954).
Blackman, M. & Curzon, A. E. in Structure and Properties of Thin Films (eds Neugebauer, C. A., Newkirk, J. B. & Vermilyea, D. A.) 217–222 (Wiley, New York, 1959).
Curzon, A. E. thesis, Imperial College, Univ. London (1959).
Wronski, C. R. M. thesis, Imperial College, Univ. London (1963).
Wronski, C. R. M. Br. J. appl. Phys. 18, 1731–1737 (1967).
Coombes, C. J. thesis, Imperial College, Univ. London (1970).
Coombes, C. J. J. Phys. F 2, 441–448 (1972).
Sambles, J. R. thesis, Imperial College, Univ. London (1970).
Sambles, J. R. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A 324, 339–351 (1971).
Berman, R. P. & Curzon, A. E. Can. J. Phys. 52, 923–929 (1974).
Gladkich, N. D., Niedermayer, R. & Spiegel, K. Phys. slat. Solid. 15, 181–192 (1966).
Pócza, J. F., Barna, A. & Barna, P. B. J. Vac. sci. Tech. 6, 472–475 (1969).
Stowell, M. J., Law, T. J. & Smart, J. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A318, 231–241 (1970).
Peppiatt, S. J. & Sambles, J. R. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A345, 387–399 (1975).
Buffat, Ph. & Borel, J.-P. Phys. Rev. A13, 2287–2298 (1976).
Pawlow, P. Z. phys. Chem. 65, 1–35; 545–548 (1909).
Rie, E. Z. phys. Chem. 104, 354–362 (1923).
Reiss, H. & Wilson, I. B. J. Colloid Sci. 3, 551–561 (1948).
Defay, R., Prigogine, I., Bellemans, A. & Everett, D. H. Surface Tension and Adsorption 244–251 (Longmans Green, 1966).
Hanszen, K.-J. Z. Phys. 157, 523–553 (1960).
Peppiatt, S. J. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A345, 401–412 (1975).
Christian, J. W. The Theory of Transformations in Metals and Alloys (Pergamon, New York, 1965).
Domb, C. II Nuovo Cimento, Suppl Series 10, 9, 9–26 (1958).
McKinney, J. T., Jones, E. R. & Webb, M. B. Phys. Rev. 160, 523–530 (1967).
Lander, J. J. Progress in Solid Stale Chemistry 2 (ed Reiss. H.) (Pergamon, New York, 1965).
Goodman, R. M. & Somorjai, G. A. J. chem. Phys. 52, 6325–6335 (1970).
Klaestrup-Kristensen, J. & Cotterill, R. M. J. Physics of Non-Equilibrium Systems: Fluctuations, Instabilities and Phase Transitions (ed Riste, T.) (Leinden, Nordhoff, 1975).
Kristensen, W. D., Jensen, E. J. & Cotterill, R. M. J. J. de Physique, Colloque C2, suppl. no 4, 36, C2–C21 (1975).
Briant, C. L. & Burton, J. J. J. chem. Phys. 63, 2045–2058 (1975).
Cotterill, R. M. J. Phil. Mag. 32, 1283–1288 (1975).
Linford, R. G. Solid State Surface Science 2 (ed. Green, M.) (Dekker, New York, 1973).
Couchman, P. R. & Everett, D. H. J. eleclroanalyt. Chem. 67, 382–386 (1967).
Hill, T. L. Thermodynamics of Small Systems. Part 1, 114–132 (Benjamin, New York, 1963).
Christian, J. W. The Theory of Transformations in Metalsand Alloys 2nd edn, Part I (Pergamon, New York, 1975).
Stowell, M. J. Phil Mag. 22, 1–6 (1970).
Nash, G. E. & Glicksman, M. E. Phil. Mag. 24, 577–592 (1971).
Tammann, G. Zeit. anorg. allg. Chem. 110, 166 (1920).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Couchman, P., Jesser, W. Thermodynamic theory of size dependence of melting temperature in metals. Nature 269, 481–483 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/269481a0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/269481a0
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.