Atomistic simulations of nanowelding of single-crystal and amorphous gold nanowires

Abstract

The mechanism and quality of the welding of single-crystal (SC) and amorphous gold nanowires (NWs) with head-to-head contact are studied using molecular dynamics simulations based on the second-moment approximation of the many-body tight-binding potential. The results are discussed in terms of atomic trajectories, slip vectors, stress, and radial distribution function. Simulation results show that the alignment for the amorphous NWs during welding is easier than that for the SC NWs due to the former's relatively stable geometry. A few dislocations nucleate and propagate on the (111) close-packed plane (slip plane) inside the SC NWs during the welding and stretching processes. During welding, an incomplete jointing area first forms through the interactions of the van der Waals attractive force, and the jointing area increases with increasing extent of contact between the two NWs. A crystallization transition region forms in the jointing area for the welding of SC-amorphous or amorphous-SC NWs. With increasing interference, an amorphous gold NW shortens more than does a SC gold NW due to the former's relatively poor strength. The pressure required for welding decreases with increasing temperature.