Melting Point and Lattice Parameter Shift in Supported Metal Nanoclusters

The dependencies of the melting point and the lattice parameter of supported metal nanoclusters as functions of clusters height are theoretically investigated in the framework of the uniform approach. The vacancy mechanism describing the melting point and the lattice parameter shifts in nanoclusters with decrease in their sizes is proposed. It is shown that under the high vacuum conditions (p < 10-7torr) the essential role in clusters melting point and lattice parameter shifts is played by van der Waals forces of cluster–substrate interaction. The proposed model satisfactorily accounts for the experimental data.