Issue 35, 2016

Strain-induced restructuring of the surface in core@shell nanoalloys

Abstract

A general trend towards surface reconstructions which eliminate open facets in favour of close-packed facets is found for a wide class of A@B nanoalloys with atomically thin shells (B-skin structures), by means of a combination of atomistic and ab initio density-functional calculations. This class comprises Co@Au, Co@Pt, Ni@Pt, Co@Ag, Ni@Ag, Cu@Ag, Cu@Au, Rh@Au, Ni@Rh and Ni@Pd nanoalloys, in which core atoms are smaller than shell atoms. The reconstruction can induce a global restructuring of the nanoparticles, with different parts transforming in a concerted way and causing the emergence of pyritohedral structures from fcc nanoalloys, and of chiral decahedra. The instability of open facets is rationalized in terms of the equilibration of atomic pressures in strained structures. The surface reconstruction can have important effects on nanoalloy properties, as shown for hydrogen adsorption on Ni@Pd.

Graphical abstract: Strain-induced restructuring of the surface in core@shell nanoalloys

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
02 Mei 2016
Accepted
04 Ago 2016
First published
04 Ago 2016

Nanoscale, 2016,8, 15911-15919

Strain-induced restructuring of the surface in core@shell nanoalloys

E. Panizon and R. Ferrando, Nanoscale, 2016, 8, 15911 DOI: 10.1039/C6NR03560D

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