Differences in melting behaviours of disordered and symmetric clusters: Au(N)(N = 54-56)

We have investigated the melting behaviours of disordered and symmetric gold clusters (Au(N), N = 54-56) by means of molecular dynamics simulations. We have found that there is no single isolated lowest energy structure for this size of Au clusters. Instead there are many nearly degenerate disordered low lying structures. The melting behaviours of these disordered structures showed that the melting occurs as a gradual process in which initially, behaviours of the surface and the inner atoms are quite different from each other, and they do not mix until the beginning of the melting. On the other hand, the symmetric forms of the Au(N) (N = 54-56) present different melting behaviours from those of the corresponding disordered structures. Their melting occurs suddenly, i.e. over a very short temperature interval. During the heating of these symmetric forms no phase changes occur until the melting temperature at which melting occurs as a collective motion of all the atoms in the cluster. On the other hand, the phase changes in the disordered structures take place as a result of both collective motions of all the atoms in the cluster, and as local displacements of the atoms.