Thermodynamics at the nanoscale: A new approach to the investigation of unique physicochemical properties of nanomaterials

A range of properties have been studied with respect to the effects of size, dimensionality and composition through a quantitative nanothermodynamics model. It is found that (a) the size dependence of these properties can be universally reconciled to the effect of severe bond dangling; (b) for the same material size, the sequence of size effects on the properties, from strong to weak, is nanoparticles, nanowires and thin films; and (c) the composition effects on the properties of nanoalloys are substantial, having a nonlinear relationship. It also reveals that vacancy formation determined by the cohesive energy variation is one of the intrinsic factors which dominate the size-dependent physicochemical properties of nanomaterials.