Related papers: Observation of electronic and atomic shell effects…
We extend our previous shell effect observation in gold nanowires at room temperature under ultra high vacuum to the other two noble metals: silver and copper. Similar to gold, silver nanowires present two series of exceptionally stable…
We report experiments on aluminum nanowires in ultra-high vacuum at room temperature that reveal a periodic spectrum of exceptionally stable structures. Two "magic" series of stable structures are observed: At low conductance, the formation…
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…
In the process of molecular dynamics simulation studies of gold nanowires an interesting structure is discovered. This is a finite double-wall nanowire with a large empty core similar to single-wall and double-wall carbon nanotubes. The…
The room temperature structure of aluminum, copper and gold infinite nanowires is studied. The molecular dynamics simulation method and the same type of the embedded atom potentials made by Voter and coworkers are used. It was found that…
The temperature dependence of structural properties for infinitely long gold nanowires is studied. The molecular dynamics simulation method and the embedded-atom potential are used. The wires constructed at T=0 K with a face-centered cubic…
After making a cold weld by pressing two clean metal surfaces together, upon gradually separating the two pieces a metallic nanowire is formed, which progressively thins down to a single atom before contact is lost. In previous experiments…
Finite gold nanowires containing less than 1000 atoms are studied using the molecular dynamics simulation method and embedded atom potential. Nanowires with the face-centered cubic structure and the (111) oriented cross-section are prepared…
The unusual structural stability of gold nanowires at large separations of gold atoms is explained from first-principles quantum mechanical calculations. We show that undetected light atoms, in particular hydrogen, stabilize the…
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…
The quantum states of a system of particles in a finite spatial domain in general consist of a set of discrete energy eigenvalues; these are usually grouped into bunches of degenerate or close-lying levels, called shells. In fermionic…
Molecular dynamics computer simulations which employ the embedded-atom potential show that nanowires of gold exist as multishelled structures. We simulate double-walled gold nanowires and calculate the capacitance of a finite nanometer-size…
A model for formation of helical multishell gold nanowires is proposed and is confirmed with the quantum mechanical molecular dynamics simulations. The model can explain the magic number of the helical gold nanowires in the multishell…
The thermal stabilization of thin gold nanowires with a diameter of about 2 nm by surfactants is investigated by means of classical molecular dynamics simulations. While the well-known melting point depression leads to a much lower melting…
Equilibrium structure, local densities of states, and electronic transport in a gold nanowire made of a four-atom chain supported by two gold electrodes, which has been imaged recently by high-resolution electron microscopy, and chemical…
We have developed a technology to reproducibly make gaps with distance control on the single atom scale. The gold contacts are flat on the nanometre scale and are fabricated on an oxidized aluminium film that serves as a gate. We show that…
This article presents a brief review of the nanoscale free-electron model, which provides a continuum description of metal nanostructures. It is argued that surface and quantum-size effects are the two dominant factors in the energetics of…
We present a study of the elongation and rupture of gold-silver alloy nanowires. Atomistic details of the evolution were derived from time-resolved atomic resolution transmission electron microscopy and molecular dynamics simulations. The…
A quantum-mechanical stability analysis of metallic nanowires within the free-electron model is presented. The stability is determined by an interplay of electron-shell effects, the Rayleigh instability due to surface tension, and the…
Electrochemical methods have recently become an interesting tool for fabricating and characterizing nanostructures at room temperature. Simplicity, low cost and reversibility are some of the advantages of this technique that allows to work…