INFIQC   05475
INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIONES EN FISICO- QUIMICA DE CORDOBA
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
capítulos de libros
Título:
Thermodynamic modelling of metal nanoclusters
Autor/es:
O. A. OVIEDO, E. P. M. LEIVA
Libro:
Metal Clusters and Nanoalloys: From Modeling to Applications
Editorial:
Springer
Referencias:
Año: 2012;
Resumen:
In the present chapter we give a review on the most recent advances on kinetic, thermodynamic and computational studies devoted to understand and predict size control of metal nanoparticles. We focus on theoretical and computational models and show how these concepts lead to the preparation of monodisperse nanoparticle assemblies. The purpose of the present authors is neither to make a complete historical compilation of all the related work nor to give an extensive review on the subject (there are several excellent reviews cited here on this topic), but rather to introduce the reader steadily and comprehensively into the models currently used. In this respect, it is worth noting that the big gap existing between the theoretical-mathematical formulation of nucleation and growth and the experimental control of the formation of nanoparticles is right starting to be bridged, and that there is still a considerably long way to go before quantitative predictions can be made. In Section I we give a short historical survey on the evolution of the concepts of nucleation and growth, making reference to the motivations, problems and if possible to the solutions proposed. In Section II we present the basic concepts of nanothermodynamics, statistical mechanics and nucleation theorems, followed by their extension to electrochemical systems. In Sections III and IV we present the main ideas involved in nanoparticle size control, from the viewpoint of kinetics (III) and thermodynamics (IV).