Johannessen, BerntKluth, PatrickCookson, D JForan, Garry JRidgway, Mark C2015-12-130168-583Xhttp://hdl.handle.net/1885/92812Elemental Cu nanocrystals were synthesized in thin film SiO2 by ion implantation and thermal annealing. The local atomic structure and nanocrystal size distribution were investigated by means of extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), respectively. We quantify the bondlength contraction and increased structural disorder in the nanocrystals as compared to a bulk Cu reference. Both are proportional to the inverse of the nanocrystal diameter, which in turn is proportional to the surface-area-to-volume ratio. In particular we show that a simple liquid-drop model can explain the bondlength contraction and estimate the surface tension of nanocrystalline Cu to be 3.8 ± 0.4 J/m2.Keywords: Annealing; Copper; Silicon compounds; Surface tension; Synchrotrons; Thin films; X ray analysis; X ray scattering; Bondlength contractions; Extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS); Ion implantations; Small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS); Nanostruc EXAFS; Ion implantation; Nanocrystals; SAXS200610.1016/j.nimb.2005.12.0152015-12-12