Novel aspects of Ostwald ripening of supported metal nanoparticles

The presented theoretical treatment of interface-controlled Ostwald ripening of supported metal nanoparticles is focused on the role of (i) the particle-size dependence of the activation energy of attachment of monomers and (ii) the heterogeneity of the surface of a support on the mesoscopic scale. The effect of the former factor on the shape of the ripening kinetics and particle-size distribution (PSD) is shown to be minor. The latter, more important factor is found to result in a broad and/or bimodal PSD.