A Comprehensive Understanding of the Melting Temperature of Nanocrystals: Implications for Catalysis

The melting temperature of nanocrystals, an important property determining the thermal stability and catalytic activity of nanocatalysts, can be tailored by manipulating the size, dimensionality, interface, and composition. Although many studies have been performed on this topic, a comprehensive understanding of the melting temperature of nanocrystals remains deficient. To clarify the synergistic influences of the aforementioned parameters, a thermodynamic model is established from the perspective of the Gibbs free energy along with the size-dependent interface energy. The established model, containing no adjustable parameters, is valid for determining the melting temperature of nanocrystals (single-component nanocrystals or binary nanoalloys) of different sizes, dimensionalities, interface conditions, and compositions. Subsequently, the model calculations are compared with the corresponding experimental and simulation values. The observed consistency between the former and the latter confirms the validity and universality of the established model, which provides an opportunity to better understand the melting behaviors of nanocrystals.