3. Nanoparticle cohesion: a thermodynamic approach

When N reaches several thousand, cohesion calculations exceed computer capacity. A thermodynamic approach is then required.

The thermodynamic description of nanoparticles is based on the evaluation of their free energy G (T ). For thermodynamic theory to apply, N must be sufficiently large and the particle surface must be characterized by a single value of surface tension γ. This is verified when the nanoparticle radius R is greater than about 3 nm . This approach is discussed in .