On the size dependence of melting parameters for silicon

Using the dependences of melting point T m and crystallization point T c on the number of atoms (N) in a spherical silicon crystal that were calculated elsewhere [6] by the method of molecular dynamics, (i) the number of atoms at which the latent heat of the solid–liquid phase transition disappears and (ii) temperature T 0 = T m(N 0) = T c(N 0) below which solidifying nanoclusters remain noncrystalline are estimated. These values are found to be N 0 = 22.8156 and T 0 = 400.851 K. The N dependences for silicon melting parameters, namely, a jump of entropy of melting, latent melting heat, slope of the melting line, and jumps in the surface energy and volume, are derived.