Related papers: Competing thermodynamic and dynamic factors select…
Consistently atomistic understanding of the mechanism behind the intriguing behavior of low-dimensional systems including monatomic chains, hollow tubes, surface skins, nanocavities, nanowires, and nanograins has long been a high challenge.…
Polycrystalline boron-doped diamond (BDD) is widely used as a working electrode material in electrochemistry, and its properties, such as its stability, make it an appealing support material for nanostructures for electrocatalytic…
Gold nanoclusters have been the focus of numerous computational studies but an atomistic understanding of their structural and dynamical properties at finite temperature is far from satisfactory. To address this deficiency, we investigate…
Fivefold-twinned metal nanoparticles host a central wedge disclination that strongly influences their mechanical and catalytic properties. Yet the atomistic mechanisms governing the stability, migration, and annihilation of this topological…
A computational approach to determine the equilibrium structures of nanoclusters in the whole temperature range from 0 K to melting is developed. Our approach relies on Parallel Tempering Molecular Dynamics (PTMD) simulations complemented…
In order to control and tailor the properties of nanodots, it is essential to separate the effects of quantum confinement from those due to the surface, and to gain insight into the influence of preparation conditions on the dot physical…
Molecular dynamic simulations are used to study the heating of a gold nanorod of 2624 atoms. We show that roughening of surface {110} facets leads to a shape transformation and structural rearrangement of surface and bulk atoms in the rod,…
The simulation and analysis of the thermal stability of nanoparticles, a stepping stone towards their application in technological devices, require fast and accurate force fields, in conjunction with effective characterisation methods. In…
The thermodynamics and kinetics of crystallization of nanoparticles, as opposed to bulk phases, may be influenced by surface and size effects. We investigate the importance of such factors in the crystallization process of gold, silver, and…
While nanoalloys are of paramount scientific and practical interests, the main processes leading to their formation are still poorly understood. Key structural features in the alloy systems, including crystal phase, chemical ordering, and…
The current miniaturization of electronic devices raises many questions about the properties of various materials at nanometre-scales. Recent molecular dynamics computer simulations have shown that small finite nanowires of gold exist as…
Atomic structures of nanomaterials are inherently dynamic, continuously reshaped through interactions with chemical species and external stimuli. Such dynamics are further amplified as the size and dimensionality of nanomaterials are…
The freezing behavior of gold nanoclusters was studied by employing molecular dynamics simulations based on a semi-empirical embedded-atom method. Investigations of the gold nanoclusters revealed that, just after freezing, ordered…
Low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy is used here to study dynamic bonding of gold atoms on surfaces under low coordination conditions. In the experiments, using an atomically-sharp gold tip, a gold adatom is deposited onto a gold…
Ab initio thermodynamics is a widespread, computationally efficient approach to predict the stable configuration of a surface in contact with a surrounding (gas or liquid) environment. In a prevalent realization of this approach, this…
The thermodynamic properties of gases have been understood primarily through phase diagrams of bulk gases. However, observations of gases confined in a nanometer space have posed a challenge to the principles of classical thermodynamics.…
We use a coarse-grained model of DNA-functionalized particles to understand the role of DNA chain length on their self-assembly. We find that the increasing chain length for a given particle size decreases the propensity to form ordered…
Nearly two-dimensional diamond, or diamane, is coveted as ultrathin $sp^3$-carbon film with unique mechanics and electro-optics. The very thinness ($~h$) makes it possible for the surface chemistry, e.g. adsorbed atoms, to shift the bulk…
As a model system of the adsorption process of anti-corrosion additives on a metal surface, molecular dynamics simulations of benzotriazole (BTA) molecules with copper slabs were completed. As a force field, ReaxFF was used to simulate both…
Surface nanobubbles are complex micro- and nanoscale fluid systems. While thermodynamics is believed to dominate nanobubble dynamics, the precise mechanism by which nanobubble evolution is driven by thermodynamics remains unclear. It is…