Magic nuclearity

Magic Nuclearity Giant Clusters of Metal Nanocrystals Formed by Mesoscale Self-Assembly... 

Figure 5. Giant clusters of different magic nuclearities, (Pd the circles corresponding to the diameters of the clusters calculated on the basis of the effective volume of an individual nanocrystal.

Nanocrystals with a specific number of atoms (nuclearity) are bequeathed special stability [7]. For nanocrystals of cubic close-packed metals, the numbers 13, 55,147, 309 and 561 stand for magic nuclearities corresponding to the closure of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 shells respectively. A schematic illustration of magic nuclearity nanocrystals is shown in Fig. 8.1. In Fig. 8.2, we show scanning tunneling and transmission electron micrographs of polymer-protected Pd561 nanocrystals. 

An example from the literature relates obtaining the magic nuclearity nanocrystals of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) capped Pd nanoparticles including Pd 561. The magic nuclearity nanocrystals obtained in this manner are monodisperse (diameter distribution < 4%) (Thomas and Kulkami 2003). 

Thomas P. John, and Kulkarni Giridhar U. From colloids to nanotechnology Investigations on magic nuclearity palladium nanocrystals. Curr. Sci. 85 no. 12 (2003) 1760-1766. 

Thomas PJ, Kulkami GU, Rao CNR (2001) Magic nuclearity giant clusters of metal nanocrystals formed by mesoscale self-assembly. J Phys Chem B 105 2515-2517... 

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