Anomalous thermal stability of cubic tin confined in a nanotube

摘要

In situ observations of transmission electron microscopy have indicated that the cubic Sn phase confined in a nanotube has extreme stability even when the temperature is more than 700℃, significantly higher than the melting point (231.9℃) of tin. A thermodynamic model was established to pursue the physical origins of the anomalous stability of the confined cubic Sn phase. It was found that the epitaxial interface confinement of SnO_2/Sn and the difference of thermal expansion between the core and shell play crucial roles in the unusual stability of the cubic Sn at high temperature.