Molecular Dynamics Studies of the Kinetics of Phase Changes in Clusters II: Crystal Nucleation from Molten (RbCl)256 and (RbCl)500 Clusters

Molecular dynamics computer simulations have been carried out to study the effects of cluster size and temperature on the nucleation rate of rubidium chloride clusters in the temperature range of 500-650 K. Clusters with 256 and 500 RbCl molecules have been studied and the results are compared with those obtained from 108 molecule clusters. The melting point (MP) of the clusters was observed to increase with the size of the clusters and can be described by a linear equation MP=997-405 N^−1/3, where N is the number of molecules in the cluster. The nucleation rate is found to decrease with increasing cluster size or increasing nucleation temperature. Both classical nucleation theory and diffuse interface theory are used to interpret our observed results.     

How important are temperature effects for cluster polarizabilities?

State-of-the-art first-principle all-electron density functional theory calculations on small sodium clusters are performed to study the temperature dependency of their polarizabilities. For this purpose Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulations with more than 100,000 time steps (>200 ps) are recorded employing gradient corrected functionals in combination with a double-zeta valence polarization basis set. For each cluster 18 trajectories between 50 and 900 K are collected. The cluster polarizabilities are then calculated along these trajectories employing a triple-zeta valence polarization basis set augmented with field-induced polarization functions. The analysis of these calculations shows that the temperature dependency of the sodium cluster polarizabilities varies strongly with cluster size. For several clusters characteristic changes in the polarizability per atom as a function of temperature are observed. It is shown that the inclusion of finite temperature effects resolves the long-standing mismatch between calculated and measured sodium cluster polarizabilities.     

Oxidation state and symmetry of magnesia-supported Pd13O(x) nanocatalysts influence activation barriers of CO oxidation

Combining temperature-programmed reaction measurements, isotopic labeling experiments, and first-principles spin density functional theory, the dependence of the reaction temperature of catalyzed carbon monoxide oxidation on the oxidation state of Pd(13) clusters deposited on MgO surfaces grown on Mo(100) is explored. It is shown that molecular oxygen dissociates easily on the supported Pd(13) cluster, leading to facile partial oxidation to form Pd(13)O(4) clusters with C(4v) symmetry. Increasing the oxidation temperature to 370 K results in nonsymmetric Pd(13)O(6) clusters. The higher symmetry, partially oxidized cluster is characterized by a relatively high activation energy for catalyzed combustion of the first CO molecule via a reaction of an adsorbed CO molecule with one of the oxygen atoms of the Pd(13)O(4) cluster. Subsequent reactions on the resulting lower-symmetry Pd(13)O(x) (x < 4) clusters entail lower activation energies. The nonsymmetric Pd(13)O(6) clusters show lower temperature-catalyzed CO combustion, already starting at cryogenic temperature.     

钯团簇碰撞沉积钯/银基板的分子动力学模拟

运用分子动力学模拟方法研究了常温下较大的钯团簇以不同初始速度撞击不同硬度基板的微观过程,着重分析了沉积形貌的变化、团簇的嵌入深度和原子的扩散程度、基板碰撞接触区域的温度演变以及碰撞过程中团簇与基板间的能量转化,获得了沉积过程中变形形貌、结构特征及能量转化随团簇尺寸、初始速度及基板材质的变化规律.并进一步探究了第二颗团簇以不同时刻沉积时前一团簇的变形形貌及基板接触区域温度变化的特点,发现短时间间隔下第二颗团簇的沉积更有利于团簇与基板的结合.     

Effect of cluster size on the chemical ordering in nanometer-sized Au-75at%Cu alloy clusters

The effect of cluster size on the chemical ordering in nanometer(nm)-sized Au-75at%Cu alloy clusters has been studied by means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It was found that the chemically disordered high-temperature phase, i.e. solid solution, becomes more stable than the ordered (L1₂) low-temperature phase even at room temperature when the cluster diameter is reduced below approximately 5 nm. Simulation has revealed that when the lattice of these nm-sized Au-75at%Cu clusters is so soft that the Debye temperature of the clusters is depressed, the order-disorder transition temperature, T_c of nm-sized clusters falls below room temperature.     

(AgI)n团簇熔化行为的分子动力学模拟

用遗传算法结合经验势搜索了(AgI)n(n=3-15)团簇的可能稳定结构, 并用微正则分子动力学方法研究了它们的熔化行为. (AgI)n团簇的稳定结构主要以四元环和六元环相接的笼状结构为主. 大多数(AgI)n会在一个较大的温度范围内随温度升高结构不断扭曲, 原子间距涨落及动能涨落不断增大, 直到在某个温度下熔化, 结构变得完全无序. (AgI)6的结构具有很高的对称性, 熔化发生在一个较窄的温度范围. 对于(AgI)5, 会在熔化前较大的温度范围内发生最稳定结构与能量较高的环状异构体之间的转化, 并可能出现负热容现象.     

Molecular Dynamics Studies of the Kinetics of Phase Changes in Clusters IV： Crystal Nucleation from Molten （NaCl）256 and （NaCl）500 Clusters

Molecular dynamics computer simulation based on the Born-Mayer-Huggins potential function has been carried out to study the effects of duster size and temperature on the nucleation rate of sodium chloride dusters in the temperature range of 580 K to 630 K. Clusters with 256 and 500 NaCl molecules have been studied and the results have been compared with those obtained from 108 molecule dusters. The melting point (MP) of the clusters were observed to increase with the size of the clusters and can be well described by a linear equation MP =1107(37)-1229(23)N^-1/3(N is the number of molecules in the duster).The nucleation rate was found to decrease with increasing the duster size or temperature. Various nucleation theories have been used to interpret the nucleation rates obtained from this molecular dynamics simulation. It is possible to use a constant diffuse interface thickness to interpret the nucleation rate from the diffuse interface theory in the temperature range of this study. However, the interfacinl free energy estimated from classical nucleation theory and diffuse interface theory increases too fast with increasing the temperature while that from Gran-Gunton theory does not change with changing temperatures.The sizes of critical nuclei estimated from all the theories are smaller than those estimated from our simulations.     

Oxygen adsorption on hydrated gold cluster anions: experiment and theory

The discovery that supported gold clusters act as highly efficient catalysts for low-temperature oxidation reactions has led to a great deal of work aimed at understanding the origins of the catalytic activity. Several studies have shown that the presence of trace moisture is required for the catalysts to function. Using near-atmospheric pressure flow reactor techniques, we have studied humidity and temperature effects on the reactivity of gas-phase gold cluster anions with O2. Near room temperature, the humid source produces abundant gold-hydroxy cluster anions, Au(N)OH(-), and these have a reversed O2 adsorption activity: Nonreactive bare gold clusters become active when in the form Au(N)OH(-), while active bare clusters are inactive when -OH is bound. The binding energies for the stable structures obtained from density functional calculations confirm fully these findings. Moreover, the theory provides evidence that electron-transfer induced by the binding of a OH group enhances the reactivity toward molecular oxygen for odd anionic gold clusters and suppresses the reactivity for the even ones. The temperature dependence of O2 addition to Au(3)OH(-) and Au(4)(-) indicates deviations from equilibrium control at temperatures below room temperature. The effects of humidity on gold cluster adsorption activity support the conclusion drawn for the mechanism of O2 adsorption on "dry" gold cluster anions and provides insight into the possible role of water in the enhanced activity of supported gold cluster catalysts.     

Noncontact atomic force microscopy studies of ultrathin films of amorphous solid water deposited on Au(111)

Noncontact atomic force microscopy was used to study the morphological changes of an ultrathin amorphous solid water (ASW) film as a function of deposition temperature, annealing temperature, and annealing time. ASW deposited at 80 or 108 K on Au(111) formed truncated hemispherical clusters of increasing size during annealing at 134 K; these clusters were inferred to be crystalline. The number of nuclei present at the outer surface of the film after deposition was greater for higher deposition temperature. For lower cluster densities, depletion of the ASW film around the clusters was observed when the clusters became larger and dendritic growth was observed when the apparent cluster footprint radius exceeded 100 nm.     

激光溅射下原子团簇生长的非平衡动力学

在“半球模型”的基础上,在考虑了因等离子体膨胀和热辐射等引起的温度答体积的变化的情况下,进一步考虑了碳簇的链状、单环、双环、多环及富勒烯等五种结构及中性粒子与中性粒子、中性粒子与离子两种反应,计算了碳簇中性分子和离子的形成动力学及其尺寸分布。     

Magnetic properties of iron clusters in a molecular beam: resolution of a controversy

Magnetic properties of small iron clusters in a supersonic molecular beam are investigated. The magnetization is probed as function of magnetic field, temperature and cluster size. Temperatures are controlled by changing the source temperature (100 K to 500 K) and the expansion conditions. The clusters also may be heated in flight with light from a pulsed laser. Hot clusters are found to be superparamagnetic however cold clusters are not but show strongly reduced magnetization which furthermore is non-linear with the applied field. Experimentally it is found that the anomalies are related to the cluster rotations. We also address a controversy between our earlier findings [1] and those by Bucher et al. [2], and demonstrate that their temperature determinations and consequent conclusions are incorrect.     

Ionization of water clusters by collisions with graphite surfaces

We present experimental results on the scattering of neutral water clusters from graphite surfaces. We use cluster beams with an average cluster size up to 3700 molecules and an incident velocity of 1300 m/s, and study the emission of negatively and positively charged cluster fragments from the surface. The ionization probability is found to depend on cluster size and surface temperature, and for a given mean cluster size the emission rate of positive and negative cluster ions follows the Arrhenius equation. In the surface temperature range 950–1450 K, activation energies of 0.52±0.02 and 3.1±0.3 eV are determined for the emission of positive and negative ions, respectively. The emission of negative cluster fragments is attributed to electron transfer from the surface, and we estimate an electron affinity of 1.4±0.3 eV for large water clusters. Positive cluster fragments are proposed to be formed by dissocative ionization inside the cluster, followed by removal of the negative ion during surface contact.     

Atomic Velocity Distributions and Diffusing Behaviors in a Nano-Alloy Cluster

This paper studies the velocity distributions and diffusing behaviors of the atoms in a nano-alloy cluster. A series of ternary alloy clusters, Au₅₀Cu₂₅Ni₂₅, and binary alloy clusters, Cu_100−aNi_a are introduced in the molecular dynamics simulations. The velocity distributions of different types of atoms in both static and moving clusters are found to obey the Maxwell’s velocity distribution with the individual mass of atoms and the inner temperature of clusters. Furthermore, the velocity distribution of whole atoms of the cluster is obtained by synthesizing the velocity distributions of compositions in the cluster according to the proportions. The consistency of the atomic motions in a moving cluster is discussed by inspecting the backward velocities of atoms, which are correlated to the translational velocity and the inner temperature of the cluster. The diffusing behaviors of the atoms in a cluster are also investigated from a viewpoint of the interatomic interactions, i.e. Cu atoms enhance the activities of Ni atoms, or Ni atoms reduce that of Cu atoms in the alloy clusters.     

Unisized two-dimensional platinum clusters on silicon(111)-7x7 surface observed with scanning tunneling microscope

Uni-sized platinum clusters (size range of 5-40) on a silicon(111)-7 x 7 surface were prepared by depositing size-selected platinum cluster ions on the silicon surface at the collision energy of 1.5 eV per atom at room temperature. The surface thus prepared was observed by means of a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) at the temperature of 77 K under an ambient pressure less than 5 x 10(-9) Pa. The STM images observed at different cluster sizes revealed that (1) the clusters are flattened and stuck to the surface with a chemical-bond akin to platinum silicide, (2) every platinum atom occupies preferentially the most reactive sites distributed within a diameter of approximately 2 nm on the silicon surface at a cluster size up to 20, and above this size, the diameter of the cluster increases with the size, and (3) the sticking probability of an incoming cluster ion on the surface increases with the cluster size and reaches nearly unity at a size larger than 20.     

Producing and detecting very large clusters

The cluster source we use, a low pressure, rare gas condensation cell, is capable of producing clusters containing more than 45 000 atoms or having masses exceeding 2 500 000 amu. Details of this source and the dependence of the cluster size distribution on adjustable working parameters (oven temperature, inert gas pressure, inert gas type) are discussed in this report. Measurements of the mass-dependent velocity distributions of the clusters emitted by the source are presented and compared to a simple model calculation. The clusters are mass-analyzed with a time-of-flight mass spectrometer and detected by a multi-channel plate. The dependence of the detectability of large clusters on the acceleration voltage is investigated.     

A Study About Nanocluster Deposition of Thin-film Formation by Molecular Dynamics Simulation

The thin-film growth has been confirmed to be assembled by an enormous number of clusters in ICBD method. In sequence of clusters’ depositions proceeds to form the thin-film to understand quantitatively the interaction mechanisms between the cluster atoms and the substrate atoms, we use molecular dynamics simulation with EAM potential. The quantitative of flatness of deposition and percent of disordered atoms were proposed to evaluate the property of thin-film. In this simulation, three different Co cluster sizes of 55, 70, and 100 atoms with different velocities (100 up to 800 m/s) were deposited on a Al(0 0 1) substrate whose temperatures were set between 300 and 500 K. The simulations begin at specific equilibrium temperature of clusters and the substrate. The simulations are performed at different temperatures of the clusters and substrate and for different sizes of clusters. We showed that the percent of disordered atoms of substrate are affected by the cluster size and velocity of the clusters. Temperature dependence of the number of disordered atoms for different cluster’s velocity was observed. We investigated the effect of cluster size and initial velocity of cluster on the value of flatness.     

Composition Dependent Magnetic Coupling in Fe-Cr Alloy Cluster Arrays

Dense arrays of Fe-Cr alloy clusters with different Cr ratios were fabricated by gas-phase cluster beam deposition. The complex multiphase structure and various coupling effects in the cluster arrays were studied. A lattice mismatched tetragonal-like morphology of the Fe-Cr alloy cluster was observed at large Cr ratio. An exchange bias effect was observed and was shown to be dependent on the proportion of the Cr components in the alloy. With the increase of the Cr composition, the exchange bias field became smaller and stronger dipolar interactions between the clusters developed. Residual coercivity and magnetization, which were more remarkable in the tetragonal-like clusters, were observed above the ferromagnetic-superparamagnetic transition temperature. The experimental results of the coercive field and the bias field at different temperatures demonstrated that the tetragonal-like clusters had better thermal stability and greater anisotropy.     

On the possible "supersolid" character of parahydrogen clusters

We present results of a theoretical study of structural and superfluid properties of parahydrogen (p-H(2)) clusters comprising 25, 26, and 27 molecules at low temperature. The microscopic model utilized here is based on the Silvera-Goldman pair potential. Numerical results are obtained by means of quantum Monte Carlo simulations, making use of the continuous-space worm algorithm. The clusters are superfluid in the low temperature limit, but display markedly different physical behaviors. For N = 25 and 27, superfluidity at low temperature arises as clusters melt, that is, become progressively liquid-like as a result of quantum effects. On the other hand, for N = 26, the cluster remains rigid and solid-like. We argue that the cluster (p-H(2))(26) can be regarded as a mesoscopic "supersolid". This physical picture is supported by results of simulations in which a single p-H(2) molecule in the cluster is isotopically substituted.     

Energy distributions of gallium nanoclusters

Starting with the heat-capacity data of Breaux et al., [J. Am. Chem. Soc. 126, 8629 (2004)] we use the maximum-entropy method to calculate energy distribution functions for gallium-ion nanoclusters over a wide temperature range (100-1050 K). Specifically, we calculate energy distributions for clusters containing n = 39 and n = 45 gallium atoms. For the case of n = 39 clusters the energy distribution gets systematically broader as a function of temperature with no indication of any marked structural change in the cluster. On the other hand, the energy distribution for the n = 45 cluster first gets broader as a function of temperature but then gets narrower again as the temperature is further increased, indicating that there is some kind of structural transition taking place in this cluster species.