Structural transitions in sodium chloride nanocrystals

High resolution ion mobility measurements have been used to examine structural transitions in (NaCl)(n)Cl- nanocrystals with between 30 and 40 NaCl units. Transformations between bulk fragment geometries with different j x k x l dimensions are observed at ambient temperatures. In some of these transformations, close to half the atoms are relocated, yet the Arrhenius activation energies are less than 0.6 eV. A surface diffusion mechanism is proposed to explain the remarkably low activation energies.