Caloric curve across the liquid-to-gas change for sodium clusters

Phys Rev Lett. 2001 Nov 12;87(20):203402. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.87.203402. Epub 2001 Oct 24.

Abstract

The caloric curve for Na(139)(+) has been measured from 100 K up to the temperature where the clusters are boiling hot and spontaneously emit atoms. In this limit the clusters form an evaporative ensemble, the temperature and energy of which have been determined. As the caloric curve of an atomic gas with a finite number of atoms is known, one can construct the caloric curve for this finite system below and above the boiling point. A conjecture is made on how to link the evaporative ensemble temperature of the free cluster in vacuum to the boiling temperature of a finite system at a given pressure. This allows one to determine the enthalpy of vaporization at the phase transition of the finite system.