Mechanisms of Coalescence of Metallic Nanodroplets and Sintering of Metallic Nanoparticles

Resumo

The regularities and mechanisms of coalescence of Au nanodroplets and sintering of solid Au nanoparticles are investigated using molecular dynamics experiments and some theoretical models. It is established that the characteristic time of coalescence τ is proportional to the radius r₀ of the original nanodroplets. Both the conclusion and the quantitative estimations of the proportionality coefficient between τ and r₀ agree with Frenkel’s theory (1946), yet this theory was proposed for describing the coalescence of macroscopic droplets.