Assemblies of gold icosahedra

TL;DR

This study uses molecular dynamics simulations to explore how gold icosahedra assemble into stable nanostructures like nanowires and nanofilms, revealing their stability and assembly behavior.

Contribution

It demonstrates that gold icosahedra form stable amorphous nanostructures without coalescing into larger drops, advancing understanding of nanoscale gold assembly.

Findings

Gold icosahedra form stable amorphous nanowires and nanofilms.

These nanostructures do not coalesce into larger drops.

High-temperature stability of the nanostructures is confirmed.

Abstract

Low-dimensional free-standing aggregates of bare gold clusters are studied by the molecular dynamics simulation. Icosahedra of 55 and 147 atoms are equilibrated at T=300 K. Then, their one- and two-dimensional assemblies are investigated. It is found that icosahedra do not coalescence into large drops, but stable amorphous nanostructures are formed: nanowires for one-dimensional and nanofilms for two-dimensional assemblies. The high-temperature stability of these nanostructures is also investigated.