Atomic Scale Adhesion between Faceted Gold NanoparticlesDan Mordehai1, Eugen Rabkin1 and David J.

Srolovitz21Department of Materials Engineering, Technion, 32000 Haifa, Israel.2Physics Department, Yeshiva University, NY, USA.

Adhesion between particles is routinely described through continuum models of contact between elastically isotropic homogenous bodies, with perfect, smooth, spherical, cylindrical or infinitely-flat surfaces prior to contact.

A. Thölén, J. Mater. Sci. 41, 4466 (2006)

Faceted nanoparticles are found to adhere through their facets. In some cases, twins are observed in the particles.

AuCu

twins

Atomic Scale Adhesion between Faceted Au NanoparticlesMD simulations are in the appropriate time- and length-scales to describe

this phenomenon.The facet centers first jump into contact, followed by the rest of the surface atoms moving in a wave that spreads outward from the facet center.The inhomogeneous deformation give rise to plastic deformation during the jump-to-contact.

D. Erts et al. Appl. Surf. Sci. 188, 460 (2002)

Atomic Scale Adhesion between Faceted Au Nanoparticles