Quantitative analysis on size dependence of eutectic temperature of alloy nanoparticles in the Ag–Pb system

The eutectic transition of Ag–Pb alloy nanoparticles was investigated using in situ transmission electron microscopy. It was found that the eutectic temperature of Ag–Pb alloy nanoparticles decreased with decreasing particle size. A linear relationship was obtained for the eutectic temperature as a function of the reciprocal of the particle radius. Theoretical calculations based on the theory of thermodynamics also suggested a linear relationship between the eutectic temperature and the inverse radius. The calculated results were in good agreement with the experimental observations.