Inorganic nanoparticles

Nanoparticles are particles with dimensions of the order of the nanometer or below, which are studied and handled by nanosciences and nanotechnologies. In order to reduce undesired effects due to the various physical properties at the nanoetric and macroscopic scale, the study of these nanoparticles is necessary. This article starts by providing a few definitions and proceeds by describing the atomic structure of these particles (atom clusters, magic numbers, fullerenes, etc.). A thermodynamic approach is then presented via the analysis of the fusion of nanoparticles and phase diagrams. The notion of thermal transfer is then dealt with.