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Aguilera-Del-Toro RH, Aguilera-Granja F, Vega A. Structural and electronic changes in the Ni 13@Ag 42 nanoparticle under surface oxidation: the role of silver coating. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2024; 26:3117-3125. [PMID: 38189473 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp05043b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
Icosahedral Ni13@Ag42 is a stable nanoparticle formed by a magnetic nickel core surrounded by a silver coating that provides physical protection to the 3d metal cluster as well as antibacterial properties. In this work, we report density functional theoretical calculations to delve into a comprehensive analysis of how surface oxidation impacts the structural, electronic, magnetic, and reactivity properties of this interesting nanoparticle. To elucidate the role played by the silver coating, we compare the results with those found for the bare Ni13 cluster also subjected to surface oxidation. When Ni13 is covered by silver, we find a markedly robust behavior of the magnetic moment of the resulting nanoparticle, which remains nearly constant upon oxidation up to the rates explored, and the same holds for its overall reactivity. The obtained trends are rationalized in terms of the complex interplay between Ni-Ag and Ag-O interactions which impact the relative inter-atomic distances, charge transfer effects, spin polarization and magnetic couplings.
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Affiliation(s)
- R H Aguilera-Del-Toro
- Departamento de Física Teórica, Atómica y Óptica, Universidad de Valladolid, ES-47011 Valladolid, Spain.
| | - F Aguilera-Granja
- Instituto de Física, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, Mexico
| | - A Vega
- Departamento de Física Teórica, Atómica y Óptica, Universidad de Valladolid, ES-47011 Valladolid, Spain.
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2
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Nelli D, Roncaglia C, Ferrando R, Kataya Z, Garreau Y, Coati A, Andreazza-Vignolle C, Andreazza P. Sudden collective atomic rearrangements trigger the growth of defect-free silver icosahedra. NANOSCALE 2023; 15:18891-18900. [PMID: 37975176 DOI: 10.1039/d3nr04530g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
The growth of Ag clusters on amorphous carbon substrates is studied in situ by X-ray scattering experiments, whose final outcome is imaged by electron microscopy. The real-time analysis of the growth process at room temperature shows the formation of a large majority of icosahedral structures by a shell-by-shell growth mode which produces smooth and nearly defect-free structures. Molecular dynamics simulations supported by ab initio calculations reveal that the shell-by-shell mode is possible because of the occurrence of collective displacements which involve the concerted motion of many atoms of the growing shell. These collective processes are a kind of black swan event, as they occur suddenly and rarely, but their occurrence is decisive for the final outcome of the growth. Annealing and ageing experiments show that the as-grown icosahedra are metastable, in agreement with the energetic stability calculations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana Nelli
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Genova, Via Dodecaneso 33, 16146 Genova, Italy.
| | - Cesare Roncaglia
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Genova, Via Dodecaneso 33, 16146 Genova, Italy.
| | - Riccardo Ferrando
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Genova, Via Dodecaneso 33, 16146 Genova, Italy.
| | - Zeinab Kataya
- Université d'Orléans, CNRS, ICMN UMR7374, 1b rue de la Férollerie, F-45071 Orléans, France.
| | - Yves Garreau
- Synchrotron Soleil, L'Orme de Merisiers, F-91192 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- Université de Paris, CNRS, Laboratoire Matériaux et Phénomènes Quantiques UMR7162, F-75013 Paris, France
| | - Alessandro Coati
- Synchrotron Soleil, L'Orme de Merisiers, F-91192 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | | | - Pascal Andreazza
- Université d'Orléans, CNRS, ICMN UMR7374, 1b rue de la Férollerie, F-45071 Orléans, France.
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Settem M, Roncaglia C, Ferrando R, Giacomello A. Structural transformations in Cu, Ag, and Au metal nanoclusters. J Chem Phys 2023; 159:094303. [PMID: 37668252 DOI: 10.1063/5.0159257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 09/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Finite-temperature structures of Cu, Ag, and Au metal nanoclusters are calculated in the entire temperature range from 0 K to melting using a computational methodology that we proposed recently [M. Settem et al., Nanoscale 14, 939 (2022)]. In this method, Harmonic Superposition Approximation (HSA) and Parallel Tempering Molecular Dynamics (PTMD) are combined in a complementary manner. HSA is accurate at low temperatures and fails at higher temperatures. PTMD, on the other hand, effectively samples the high temperature region and melts. This method is used to study the size- and system-dependent competition between various structural motifs of Cu, Ag, and Au nanoclusters in the size range 1-2 nm. Results show that there are mainly three types of structural changes in metal nanoclusters, depending on whether a solid-solid transformation occurs. In the first type, the global minimum is the dominant motif in the entire temperature range. In contrast, when a solid-solid transformation occurs, the global minimum transforms either completely to a different motif or partially, resulting in the co-existence of multiple motifs. Finally, nanocluster structures are analyzed to highlight the system-specific differences across the three metals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manoj Settem
- Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica e Aerospaziale, Sapienza Università di Roma, via Eudossiana 18, 00184 Roma, Italy
| | - Cesare Roncaglia
- Dipartimento di Fisica dell'Università di Genova, via Dodecaneso 33, 16146 Genova, Italy
| | - Riccardo Ferrando
- Dipartimento di Fisica dell'Università di Genova and CNR-IMEM, via Dodecaneso 33, 16146 Genova, Italy
| | - Alberto Giacomello
- Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica e Aerospaziale, Sapienza Università di Roma, via Eudossiana 18, 00184 Roma, Italy
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Abstract
A significant challenge in the development of functional materials is understanding the growth and transformations of anisotropic colloidal metal nanocrystals. Theory and simulations can aid in the development and understanding of anisotropic nanocrystal syntheses. The focus of this review is on how results from first-principles calculations and classical techniques, such as Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulations, have been integrated into multiscale theoretical predictions useful in understanding shape-selective nanocrystal syntheses. Also, examples are discussed in which machine learning has been useful in this field. There are many areas at the frontier in condensed matter theory and simulation that are or could be beneficial in this area and these prospects for future progress are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristen A Fichthorn
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Department of Physics The Pennsylvania State University University Park, Pennsylvania 16803 United States
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5
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Influence of air exposure on structural isomers of silver nanoparticles. Commun Chem 2023; 6:19. [PMID: 36698009 PMCID: PMC9873626 DOI: 10.1038/s42004-023-00813-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Up to date, the influence of ambient air exposure on the energetics and stability of silver clusters has rarely been investigated and compared to clusters in vacuum. Silver clusters up to 3000 atoms in size, on an amorphous carbon film, have been exposed to ambient air and investigated by atomic-resolution imaging in the aberration-corrected Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope. Ordered structures comprise more than half the population, the rest are amorphous. Here, we show that the most common ordered isomer structures is the icosahedron. These results contrast with the published behaviour of silver clusters protected from atmospheric exposure, where the predominant ordered isomer is face-centred cubic. We propose that the formation of surface oxide or sulphide species resulting from air exposure can account for this deviation in stable isomer. This interpretation is consistent with density functional theory calculations based on silver nanoclusters, in the size range 147-201 atoms, on which methanethiol molecules are adsorbed. An understanding of the effects of ambient exposure on the atomic structure and therefore functional properties of nanoparticles is highly relevant to their real-world performance and applications.
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Chen L, Liang T, Wang L. Growth Pattern of Large Morse Clusters with Medium-Range Potentials. J Phys Chem Lett 2022; 13:9801-9808. [PMID: 36227940 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c02875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Due to the extremely complex potential energy surfaces of large Morse clusters with medium-range potentials (i.e., ρ = 6 and 10), global optimization studies in the literature are limited to a cluster size (N) of ≤240. Starting from completely random structures, we successfully systematically studied Morse clusters with up to 700 atoms using our unbiased fuzzy global optimization (FGO) method. While all of the putative global minima reported previously have been efficiently obtained, new global minima with lower energies are identified for N values of 176, 258, 485, 561, 817, and 923 with ρ = 6 and for N values of 151, 202, 226, and 229 with ρ = 10. A detailed growth pattern and magic clusters are obtained. For the first time, we find that a central vacancy is present in Morse clusters containing 542, 543, 548, and 922 atoms with ρ = 6. FGO has achieved high performance in large clusters with different interatomic interaction ranges, thus showing great application potential in the global structure optimization of general clusters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liping Chen
- Hangzhou Institute of Advanced Studies, Zhejiang Normal University, Hangzhou311231, China
- Key Laboratory of Excited-State Materials of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou310027, China
| | - Tao Liang
- Hangzhou Institute of Advanced Studies, Zhejiang Normal University, Hangzhou311231, China
| | - Linjun Wang
- Key Laboratory of Excited-State Materials of Zhejiang Province, Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou310027, China
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Jurkiewicz K, Kamiński M, Bródka A, Burian A. Atomistic origin of nano-silver paracrystalline structure: molecular dynamics and x-ray diffraction studies. JOURNAL OF PHYSICS. CONDENSED MATTER : AN INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS JOURNAL 2022; 34:375401. [PMID: 35772380 DOI: 10.1088/1361-648x/ac7d84] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Classical molecular dynamics (MD) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) have been used to establish the origin of the paracrystalline structure of silver nanoparticles at the atomic scale. Models based on the face-centred cubic structure have been computer generated and their atomic arrangements have been optimized by the MD with the embedded-atom model (EAM) potential and its modified version (MEAM). The simulation results are compared with the experimental XRD data in reciprocal and real spaces, i.e. the structure factor and the pair distribution function. The applied approach returns the structural models, defined by the Cartesian coordinates of the constituent atoms. It has been found that most of the structural features of Ag nanoparticles are better reproduced by the MEAM. The presence of vacancy defects in the structure of the Ag nanoparticles has been considered and the average concentration of vacancies is estimated to be 3 at.%. The average nearest-neighbour Ag-Ag distances and the coordination numbers are determined and compared with the values predicted for the bulk Ag, demonstrating a different degree of structural disorder on the surface and in the core, compared to the bulk crystalline counterpart. It has been shown that the paracrystalline structure of the Ag nanoparticles has origin in the surface disorder and the disorder generated by the presence of the vacancy defects. Both sources lead to network distortion that propagates proportionally to the square root of the interatomic distances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karolina Jurkiewicz
- A. Chełkowski Institute of Physics, University of Silesia in Katowice, 75 Pułku Piechoty 1, 41-500 Chorzów, Poland
- Silesian Center for Education and Interdisciplinary Research, 75 Pułku Piechoty 1a, 41-500 Chorzów, Poland
| | - Michał Kamiński
- Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, Photon Science, Notkestraße 85, D-22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Aleksander Bródka
- A. Chełkowski Institute of Physics, University of Silesia in Katowice, 75 Pułku Piechoty 1, 41-500 Chorzów, Poland
- Silesian Center for Education and Interdisciplinary Research, 75 Pułku Piechoty 1a, 41-500 Chorzów, Poland
| | - Andrzej Burian
- A. Chełkowski Institute of Physics, University of Silesia in Katowice, 75 Pułku Piechoty 1, 41-500 Chorzów, Poland
- Silesian Center for Education and Interdisciplinary Research, 75 Pułku Piechoty 1a, 41-500 Chorzów, Poland
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8
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Lacaze-Dufaure C, Bulteau Y, Tarrat N, Loffreda D, Fau P, Fajerwerg K, Kahn ML, Rabilloud F, Lepetit C. Coordination of Ethylamine on Small Silver Clusters: Structural and Topological (ELF, QTAIM) Analyses. Inorg Chem 2022; 61:7274-7285. [PMID: 35485936 DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.1c03870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Amine ligands are expected to drive the organization of metallic centers as well as the chemical reactivity of silver clusters early growing during the very first steps of the synthesis of silver nanoparticles via an organometallic route. Density functional theory (DFT) computational studies have been performed to characterize the structure, the atomic charge distribution, and the planar two-dimensional (2D)/three-dimensional (3D) relative stability of small-size silver clusters (Agn, 2 ≤ n ≤ 7), with or without an ethylamine (EA) ligand coordinated to the Ag clusters. The transition from 2D to 3D structures is shifted from n = 7 to 6 in the presence of one EA coordinating ligand, and it is explained from the analysis of the Ag-N and Ag-Ag bond energies. For fully EA saturated silver clusters (Agn-EAn), the effect on the 2D/3D transition is even more pronounced with a shift between n = 4 and 5. Subsequent electron localization function (ELF) and quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) topological analyses allow for the fine characterization of the dative Ag-N and metallic Ag-Ag bonds, both in nature and in strength. Electron transfer from ethylamine to the coordinated silver atoms induces an increase of the polarization of the metallic core.
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Affiliation(s)
- Corinne Lacaze-Dufaure
- CIRIMAT, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INP─ENSIACET 4 allée Emile Monso─BP44362, 31030 Toulouse cedex, France
| | - Yann Bulteau
- CIRIMAT, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INP─ENSIACET 4 allée Emile Monso─BP44362, 31030 Toulouse cedex, France
| | - Nathalie Tarrat
- CEMES, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, 29 rue Jeanne Marvig, 31055 Toulouse, France
| | - David Loffreda
- Laboratoire de Chimie, Univ Lyon, Ens de Lyon, CNRS UMR 5182, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, F-69342 Lyon, France
| | - Pierre Fau
- LCC-CNRS, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 31077 Toulouse Cedex 04, France
| | - Katia Fajerwerg
- LCC-CNRS, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 31077 Toulouse Cedex 04, France
| | - Myrtil L Kahn
- LCC-CNRS, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 31077 Toulouse Cedex 04, France
| | - Franck Rabilloud
- Institut Lumière Matière, Univ. Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Christine Lepetit
- LCC-CNRS, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 31077 Toulouse Cedex 04, France
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