Computer Simulation of the Formation Process of Cu-Au Nanoparticles by Condensation

Abstract

The computer simulation method was used to examine condensation of 90124 Cu and Au atoms from the gas phase. To analyze the synthesis processes, there were selected chemical compositions Cu3Au, Cu-Au, Cu90Au10 and Cu60Au40 being cooled with liquid nitrogen during the condensation. The undertaken simulation showed that the increase in the percentage of gold atoms in the initial couple decreases the number of clusters of a relatively large size. Moreover, the analysis of the external view and the structure of Cu-Au nanoparticles of various chemical composition allowed us to conclude that a large number of binary nanoparticles were of an icosahedral structure.