The Nanoscale Free-Electron Model

Details The Nanoscale Free-Electron Model The Nanoscale Free-Electron Model

2010-06-20

arxiv.org/abs/1006.3910v1

Physics

Condensed Matter

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics

To appear in "Handbook of Nanophysics" (ed. K.Sattler) (Taylor & Francis 2010)

Scientific paper

A brief review of the nanoscale free-electron model of metal nanowires is presented. This continuum description of metal nanostructures allows for a unified treatment of cohesive and conducting properties. Conductance channels act as delocalized chemical bonds whose breaking is responsible for jumps in the conductance and force oscillations. It is argued that surface and quantum-size effects are the two dominant factors in the energetics of a nanowire, and much of the phenomenology of nanowire stability and structural dynamics can be understood based on the interplay of these two competing factors. A linear stability analysis reveals a sequence of ``magic'' conductance values for which the underlying nanowire geometry is exceptionally stable. The stable configurations include Jahn-Teller deformed wires of broken axial symmetry. The model naturally explains the experimentally observed shell and supershell structures.

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