Physics and Chemistry of Finite Systems: From Clusters to Crystals, Vol.1 (NATO ASI Series C: Mathematical and Physical Sciences)

Oversized hardcover, xvi + 818pp, NOT ex-library. Weight 1270g. Previous owner's name covered with a blank sticker, else interior is very good: clean and bright throughout with unmarked text, free of stamps. Firm secure binding; clean outer page edges. Spine and board edges moderately yellowed, boards show regular shelfwear, minor creases to lower spine. Published without a dust jacket. Recent innovations in experimental techniques such as molecular and cluster beam epitaxy, supersonic jet expansion, matrix isolation and chemical synthesis are increasingly enabling researchers to produce materials by design and with atomic dimension. These materials constrained by sire, shape, and symmetry range from clusters containing as few as two atoms to nanoscale materials consisting of thousands of atoms. They possess unique structuraI, electronic, magnetic and optical properties that depend strongly on their size and geometry. The availability of these materials raises many fundamental questions as weIl as technological possibilities. From the academic viewpoint, the most pertinent question concerns the evolution of the atomic and electronic structure of the system as it grows from micro clusters to crystals. At what stage, for example, does the cluster look as if it is a fragment of the corresponding crystal. How do electrons forming bonds in micro-clusters transform to bands in solids? How do the size dependent properties change from discrete quantum conditions, as in clusters, to boundary constrained bulk conditions, as in nanoscale materials, to bulk conditions insensitive to boundaries? How do the criteria of classification have to be changed as one goes from one size domain to another? Potential for high technological applications also seem to be endless. Clusters of otherwise non-magnetic materials exhibit magnetic behavior when constrained by size, shape, and dimension. NanoscaIe metal particles exhibit non-linear opticaI properties and increased mechanical strength. SimiIarly, materials made from nanoscale ceramic particIes possess plastic behavior. Contents: Atomic Structure of Clusters through Chemical Reactions; Structure of Decagonal Quasicrystals; Atomic Structure of Quasicrystals with and without Phason Defects; Structure of Quasi Crystals in Terms of Atomic Clusters; STM Studies of Clusters; Structure and Transformation. Clusters as Models for Condensed Phases; Structure Model of the Al-Cu-Co Decagonal Quasicrystal; Infrared Spectroscopy of SF6 Attached to Classical and Quantum Clusters; Morphology and Structure of Ultrafine Gold Particles; Magic Numbers of Bimetallic Cluster Ions Consisting of Group-III Metals: The Icosahedric 13 Atom Clusters; Significant Structure Theory of Molecular Clusters; On the Origin of the Dendritic Shapes in Goethite Particles; Structural Fluctuation of Au55 and Au147 Clusters; A Face Centered Icosahedral Approximant Phase with Local Icosahedral Symmetry; Defect-Fcc Structural Models for Argon Clusters ArN, N ¿ 500; Beyond the Icosahedral Glass Model, the Interpenetrating Pseudo - Icosahedral Clusters (IPIC) Model; Geometric Shell Structure of Metal Clusters; Electronic Shell Structure in Icosahedral Metal Clusters; Evolutionary Patterns of Structure and Stability of Clusters; Chemistry of Stable Quasi-Crystals; Structure and Evolution of Nano- and Microcrystalline Grain Aggregates; Defects in Quasicrystals; A Computational Quantum Mechanical Study on Weakly Bonded Clusters of NH3 with SO2 and HNC; Structural Instability by Phason Softening in Icosahedral Quasicrystals; Positive and Negative Helium Cluster Ions Formed From Supercritical Expansions; Electronic Structure and Reactivity of Bimetallic Clusters Containing Sodium Atoms; Metal Clusters: How Many Atoms are Required for Thermionic Emission?; Structural and Electronic Properties of Neutral and Charged Mgn Clusters; Intrinsic Stability of Quasicrystals under the Generation of Frenkel Defects.…