Extreme undercooling (down to 90K) of liquid metal nanoparticles

Abstract

International audienceLow-melting-point metal nanoparticles show remarkable undercoolings: exceptional values DeltaT/Tm~=0.5 were previously reported for confined Ga droplets in the 100–1000 nm range. This was considered a characteristic limiting temperature for Ga. We here give evidence that Ga nanoparticles in the 3–15 nm range can be undercooled at least down to 90 K (DeltaT/Tm>=0.7) without crystallization. Since computations and experiments on clusters with <50 atoms show on the contrary the signatures of melting at temperatures well above the bulk value, the result is particularly relevant in stressing the importance of interfacial and finite-size effects on the thermodynamics of the nanoscale