Journal of Physical Chemistry B, Vol.107, No.2, 430-434, 2003
Sintering of alkanethiol-capped gold and platinum nanoclusters
One of the unusual properties of metal nanoclusters is the size dependence of the melting temperature. Studies show that the melting temperature is a decreasing function of the cluster diameter, although the actual dependence is not known, due to the difficulties associated with the experimental measurements. We have synthesized narrow dispersity alkanethiol-functionalized An and Pt nanoclusters in inverse micellar solutions and have measured the sintering temperatures of these films using a capacitance technique to determine the onset of film conductivity. Cluster sintering is accompanied by pronounced optical changes and a thermal signature that can be observed in differential thermal analysis. The large optical absorbance of nanocluster films makes laser sintering a practical method for the formation of metallization layers.