Issue 7, 2006
From the journal:

Chemical Society Reviews

Size matters: why nanomaterials are different

Emil Roduner*a  

* Corresponding authors

a Institute of Physical Chemistry, University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 55, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany
E-mail: e.roduner@ipc.uni-stuttgart.de
Fax: +49 711 6856 4495
Tel: +49 711 6856 4490

Abstract

Gold is known as a shiny, yellow noble metal that does not tarnish, has a face centred cubic structure, is non-magnetic and melts at 1336 K. However, a small sample of the same gold is quite different, providing it is tiny enough: 10 nm particles absorb green light and thus appear red. The meltingtemperature decreases dramatically as the size goes down. Moreover, gold ceases to be noble, and 2–3 nm nanoparticles are excellent catalysts which also exhibit considerable magnetism. At this size they are still metallic, but smaller ones turn into insulators. Their equilibrium structure changes to icosahedral symmetry, or they are even hollow or planar, depending on size. The present tutorial review intends to explain the origin of this special behaviour of nanomaterials.

Graphical abstract: Size matters: why nanomaterials are different

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Article information

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/B502142C
Article type
Tutorial Review
Submitted
16 Mar 2006
First published
04 May 2006

Chem. Soc. Rev., 2006,35, 583-592

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Size matters: why nanomaterials are different

E. Roduner, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2006, 35, 583 DOI: 10.1039/B502142C

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