On thermodynamic stability conditions for nanosized particles

Thermodynamic stability conditions (following from non-negativity of the second variation of the free energy) have been analyzed for two cases: (i) the nanoscale region when the surface tension depends on the particle size; (ii) the limiting case when the surface tension becomes equal to its macroscopic value. One has shown that the thermodynamic condition of mechanical stability of small objects relates its effective surface tension with the isothermal compressibility of the corresponding bulk maternal phase.