The fcc-hcp transition in single-component and binary van der Waals clusters from electron difraction data

TL;DR

This study investigates the nucleation and growth of the hcp phase in argon and argon-krypton clusters using electron diffraction, revealing size-dependent phase composition and a proposed nucleation mechanism.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis of the hcp phase formation in large van der Waals clusters and correlates phase volume with defect structures.

Findings

The hcp phase appears above a certain cluster size.

The hcp phase volume increases with cluster size and saturates.

Mixed clusters have nearly double the hcp volume compared to pure argon clusters.

Abstract

An electron diffraction study of nucleation and growth of the hcp phase in large pure Ar and mixed Ar-Kr clusters formed by supersonic jet expansion is carried out. The threshold cluster size corresponding to the appearance of an hcp phase in addition to the fcc structure is determined. It is found that the relative volume of the hcp phase in clusters increases with their size. In very large aggregations, the percentage of hcp phase reaches its maximum and does not change with further cluster growth. The hcp phase relative volume in mixed clusters is almost double that in pure Ar clusters of the same size. A correlation between the hcp phase relative volume and the number of defective planes contained in the fcc matrix, which are the nuclei of the hcp phase, is established. A mechanism of nucleation and growth of the hcp phase in rare gas clusters is proposed.