Solid clusters above the bulk melting point

Abstract

The fact that the melting points of nanoparticles are always lower than those of the corresponding bulk material is a paradigm supported by extensive experimental data for a large number of systems and by numerous calculations. Here we demonstrate that tin cluster ions with 10-30 atoms remain solid at approximately 50 K above the melting point of bulk tin. This behavior is possibly related to the fact that the structure of the clusters is completely different from that of the bulk element.