Electronic Properties of Metallic Fine Particles. I.

TLDR

In metallic fine particles, quantized electronic level spacing becomes comparable to thermal energy at cryogenic temperatures, leading to significant deviations in thermal properties and relaxation processes from bulk behavior. The paper briefly discusses these effects, with more detailed treatments to be presented in a forthcoming paper. They find that heat capacity is reduced to roughly two‑thirds of bulk values while paramagnetic susceptibility is enhanced.

Abstract

The level spacing of quantized electronic states becomes fairly large in very fine particles. For instance, it will be comparable to k T at T =1°K if the linear dimension of a particle is 50 Å or so. Thermal properties may show considerable deviations from the normal bulk values for such fine particles. The heat capacity will be reduced to about two-thirds and the paramagnetic susceptibility may be enhanced. Even more important effects are expected for relaxation processes. They are discussed briefly, but more detailed treatments will be given in a forth-coming paper.