Evolution of Structure and Energy Stability of Ag Nanoparticles*

Nanotechnology is a leading interdisciplinary science that is emerging as a distinctive field of research. Its advances and applications will result in technical capabilities that will allow the development of novel nanomaterials with applications that will revolutionize the industry in many areas. In this work we present the structural evolution and energy stability results for silver nanoparticles from the small (1-2 nm) to the big (50 nm) size ranges. We have found that the appearances of structural lattice defects are important factors that influence the growth process. A simple assembly model for a path transformation for silver nanoparticles is presented and compared with experimental evidence.