Structural properties of gold clusters at different temperatures

Abstract

A series of gold clusters consisting of aggregates of from 13 to 147 atoms was studied using the Sutton-Chen type many-body potential in molecular dynamics simulations. The properties of these clusters at temperatures from 10 K to 1000 K were investigated in terms of their energy content and their respective radial distribution functions, to describe their melting behaviour. The larger clusters were deduced to melt over a range of temperatures rather than to undergo a distinctive phase change at a specific temperature as in the bulk material.