We have studied the nonmetal-metal transition in small nickel clusters (N < 38) for a large variety of different structures reported in the literature. A self-consistent tight-binding method for the s, p, and d valence electrons in the mean field approximation has been used to calculate the density of states. The prescription employed to identify the nonmetal-metal transition was Kubo%27s criterion, that establish that the small clusters may remain insulating until the density of states at the Fermi level exceeds 1/(kBT). We compare our results with some experimental results.
We have studied the nonmetal-metal transition in small nickel clusters (N < 38) for a large variety of different structures reported in the literature. A self-consistent tight-binding method for the s, p, and d valence electrons in the mean field approximation has been used to calculate the density of states. The prescription employed to identify the nonmetal-metal transition was Kubo's criterion, that establish that the small clusters may remain insulating until the density of states at the Fermi level exceeds 1/(kBT). We compare our results with some experimental results.
