Abstract
The sintering of small assemblies of metal nanoparticles was studied using molecular dynamics computer simulations. The work demonstrates that owing to the large shear stresses that develop at interparticle contacts, sintering of nanoparticles can take place on a time scale of tens of picoseconds. The sintering mechanism, however, differed for different types of metals examined, pure Cu and Ni, and intermetallic and amorphous CuTi. It also varied with the size of the nanoparticles. For 5 nm particles of either Cu or Ni, mass transport occurred by a dislocation mechanism. Grain boundary energies also strongly influenced the sintering behavior of these systems, with crystallographically misaligned nano-particles rotating to form a low energy grain boundaries. For smaller particles, the contact of two particles led to the shearing of one of the them into two separate grains. Sintering in amorphous CuTi and intermetallic CuTi did not involve slip, but rather viscous flow of mass along the interparticle boundaries.
Original language | English (US) |
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Title of host publication | Chemistry and Physics of Nanostructures and Related Non-Equilibrium Materials |
Editors | E. Ma, B. Fultz, R. Shull, J. Morral, P. Nash |
Publisher | Minerals, Metals & Materials Soc (TMS) |
Pages | 55-62 |
Number of pages | 8 |
State | Published - 1997 |
Event | Proceedings of the 1997 TMS Annual Meeting - Orlando, FL, USA Duration: Feb 9 1997 → Feb 13 1997 |
Other
Other | Proceedings of the 1997 TMS Annual Meeting |
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City | Orlando, FL, USA |
Period | 2/9/97 → 2/13/97 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Geology
- Metals and Alloys