Observation of size-dependent coalescence of Ag clusters

Clusters generated by the gas aggregation technique with Diameters are condensed at room temperature on thin carbon films and investigated by means of electron microscopy. Spontaneous coalescence of clusters occurs during deposition. Larger clusters, on the other hand, do not tend to coalesce and mainly preserve their shape, exhibiting only small alterations due to sintering in the boundary regions. Surface area determination by the BET method using N2 as the adsorbate gives a specific surface area of 3.6 m2/g in the case of powder resulting from small clusters