Novel aspects of Ostwald ripening of supported metal nanoparticles

► The analysis is focused on two factors influencing interface-controlled Ostwald ripening of metal nanoparticles. ► The first one is the particle-size dependence of the activation energy of attachment of monomers. ► The second one is the heterogeneity of the surface of a support. ► The latter factor is found to result in a broad and/or bimodal particle-size distribution.