How nanoparticles reduce their overall surface energy

Solid-state diffusion

At overall system level

Combining individual nanostructures

Reduce overall surface area

Agglomeration of individual nanostructures without altering the individual nanostructures

To form large structures

Surface atoms / Ions shift inwardly

Surface restructuring

Combining surface dangling bonds into strained new chemical bonds

Surface Adsorption

Chemical / Physical adsorption of terminal chemical species onto surface

Chemical bond

Weak Attraction Forces

Eletrostatic forces

Van der Waals forces

Composition segregation or impurity enrichment on the surface

Sintering

Ostwald ripening

Merging individual structures togrther

Large structures grow at the expense of smaller structure

Name: Soon Li Jie Matric No.: 142497