Domain-walls formation in binary nanoscopic finite systems

TL;DR

This paper investigates how impurities at the edges of finite systems induce commensurate-incommensurate transitions, demonstrated through a 1D Frenkel-Kontorowa model and 2D Monte Carlo simulations.

Contribution

It reveals the role of edge impurities in triggering C-IC transitions in finite systems, extending understanding from 1D models to 2D clusters.

Findings

Impurities at chain ends induce C-IC transition in 1D systems.

Edge impurities cause similar transitions in 2D finite clusters.

Finite systems exhibit phase transitions influenced by boundary impurities.

Abstract

Using a simple one-dimensional Frenkel-Kontorowa type model, we have demonstrated that finite commensurate chains may undergo the commensurate-incommensurate (C-IC) transition when the chain is contaminated by isolated impurities attached to the chain ends. Monte Carlo (MC) simulation has shown that the same phenomenon appears in two-dimensional systems with impurities located at the peripheries of finite commensurate clusters.