Size-Dependent Phase Transformations in Bismuth Oxide Nanoparticles. I. Synthesis and Evaporation

At the nanoscale material properties can be tuned by altering the size and shape of the specimen. Such effects are quite well investigated for metallic materials. On the other hand inorganic compounds have received relatively little interest due to the more demanding experimental procedures. While the size effects are similar for any kind of inorganic material, the degree of size-dependent changes depends on the bond strength and bond nature of the material at the surface: the higher the surface energy, the stronger the size dependence