Exploration of the Structural, Electronic and Tunable Magnetic Properties of Cu₄M (M = Sc-Ni) Clusters

Theoretical Study on the Aggregation of Copper Clusters on a Liquid Surface

The ground state structures of copper clusters with different sizes along with their aggregation have been systematic investigated using Amsterdam Density Functional (ADF) and Atomistix ToolKit (ATK) programs. On the basis of geometry optimization, some Cu clusters with more stable structures which were not reported previously have been revealed. In most cases, these Cu clusters prefer to adopt icosahedral structures which originate from the 13-atom icosahedron. It has also been demonstrated that the interaction between two Cu clusters is anisotropic, which is attributed to their charge distribution, especially the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of Cu clusters. Moreover, we have carried out the simulation of Cu clusters aggregation on the silicone oil substrate by means of Monte Carlo (MC) method, which shows good consistence with our previous experimental studies.

Structural Evolution of AlN Nanoclusters and the Elemental Chemisorption Characteristics: Atomistic Insight

A theoretical insight into the structural evolution of AlN atomic clusters and the chemisorption of several common alloying elements on a large cluster has been performed in the framework of state-of-the-art density functional theory calculations. We report the findings that the longitudinal growth takes precedence during the early stage of structural evolution of small AlN clusters, when the longitudinal dimension becomes stable, the AlN cluster proceeds with cross-growth and blossoms into the large-size Al₆₀N₆₀. Upon the growth of clusters, the structures tend to become well-knit gradually. As for the evolution of electronic structures of AlN clusters through the HSE06 calculations, the density of states curves become more and more nondiscrete with the atomic structures evolving from small to large size and tend to resemble that of the Wurtzite AlN. The chemisorption characteristics of the large Al₆₀N₆₀ cluster towards different elements such as Al, N, Fe and Cu are also theoretically unveiled, in which it is interestingly found that the N and Cu atoms are likely to be adsorbed similarly at the growth edge position of the Al₆₀N₆₀ cluster and the density of states curves of these two chemisorption systems near the Fermi level also show some interesting similarities.