Effect of chemical interaction on the stability of metal clusters in FCC metals

Abstract

Structural stability of small Ni, Al, and Au metal clusters with a number of atoms close to N = 55 and 147 has been studied by the method of molecular dynamics with the use of realistic potentials of interatomic interaction. It has been shown that in Ni, in which the icosahedral configuration is most stable, the mass spectrum predominantly contains peaks, which correspond to N = 55 and 147. At the same time, for Au and Al clusters, the consequence of magic numbers differs from that specified by the close packing of atoms, and its realization depends on experimental conditions. The results obtained allow concluding that the position of peaks in the mass spectrometric experiments with small clusters is determined by morphological features of the structural state, which depend on the character of interatomic interaction.