The thermodynamic properties of nanoparticles with the characteristic sizes less than 10 nm

In the framework of the Landau mean-field theory, the novel thermodynamic model was developed to describe the behavior of the melting enthalpy and entropy of nano-objects having the characteristic size less than 10 nm. It is implied that nano-objects of the critical sizes undergo the second-order transition instead of usual melting. For the first time it was revealed that the melting enthalpy and entropy of nanoparticles, having the characteristic size less than critical one, increase with decreasing the characteristic size of nanoparticles.