| Summary: | The present investigation aims at understanding the effect of size on melting behaviour of free standing alloy nanoparticles. Alloy nanoparticles of Bi1-xSbx (x=0.12, 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75) have been synthesized by solvothermal route using sodium borohydride (NaBH4) as a reducing agent. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The melting behaviour of alloys was determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The formation of different solid solution phases of Bi-Sb alloy has been confirmed by detailed XRD studies. Uniform cuboctahedral as well as spherical morphology of alloy nanoparticles has been observed in TEM with average particle size of 40±9 nm in Bi0.75Sb0.25 specimen. DSC studies indicate the depression in the melting temperature of the nanoparticles as compared to the bulk alloy of same composition.
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