Chemical Properties
Metallic nanophases - Definitions, processing and properties

Chemistry is the science of the transformation of matter, involving energy levels related to atomic bond energy. For solid phases, particularly metal alloys, applications primarily involve heterogeneous catalysis—that is, the use of surface properties to facilitate a chemical reaction. It should be noted that a catalyst does not alter the thermodynamics of a chemical reaction: the reaction enthalpy remains unchanged. Catalysis modifies the reaction kinetics by lowering the activation energy: the catalyst opens a faster pathway for the reaction through the interaction (the formation of a bond) between one or more chemical species and the metal surface.

How should we approach our search for a relevant length scale in this context? The first length scale that comes to mind is the size of the phase; the property of interest is reactivity, and thus the thermodynamics...