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The studies of silica nanoclusters are of substantial interest for large potential in applications as diverse as photonics/optics, microelectronics and catalysis. In this study, we used the basing-hopping method with Buckingham potential to get the stable structures of silica nanoclusters ((SiO2)(n) = 1-13). The global minimum geometry of silica nanoclusters were determined by density functional theory calculation. We investigated the energy gap, binding energy and second order energy difference of nanoclusters to determine their structural stability with different sizes. We also calculate the second-order energy difference, binding energy to determine the magic number.

The mechanical properties of Ni-Ta crystallizationand binary bulk metallic glasses (BMG) were investigated for this study at the nanoscale. First, the Ta9Ni3 crystals are formed by space group, and structures with different ratios (Ta1Ni1, BTa8Ni4, BTa9Ni3, BTa7Ni5) were put into unit cell randomly. The optimizations of BMG structures are performed by Density functional theory (DFT) calculation to find the stable amorphous structures and corresponding energy. The FMM is utilized to obtain the suitable parameters of tight-binding potential bystable amorphous structures and corresponding energies. Finally, we employ molecular dynamics (MD) simulation to study mechanical properties of Ni/Ta crystallization and BMG, such as atomistic stress-strain, plastic and elastic deformation, and elastic modulus.

The adsorption and dissociation properties of carbon monoxide (CO) molecule on tungsten W(n) (n = 10-15) nanoparticles have been investigated by density-functional theory (DFT) calculations. The lowest-energy structures for W(n) (n = 10-15) nanoparticles are found by the basin-hopping method and big-bang method with the modified tight-binding many-body potential. We calculated the corresponding adsorption energies, C-O bond lengths and dissociation barriers for adsorption of CO on nanoparticles. The electronic properties of CO on nanoparticles are studied by the analysis of density of state and charge density. The characteristic of CO on W(n) nanoparticles are also compared with that of W bulk.

The adsorption and dissociation of H2O in Pd nanowire have been investigated by the density functional theory (DFT) studies. First, we construct Pd nanowire by basin-hopping method and use DFT calculation to find the ground state of Pd nanowire, and put the H2O molecular on different adsorption sites and the H2O molecule is found to preferentially absorb on a Top (T) site. The H2O molecule lies parallel to the Pd nanowire surface, while the O atom is bound at a Top site. We also calculate the partial density of state (PDOS) and election density difference. In addition, our calculated results demonstrate that the bonding between H2O and Pd nanowire is contributed by d orbitals of Pd nanowire and p orbitals of O atom. The nudged elastic band (NEB) method is applied to locate transition states and minimum energy pathways (MEP), and we discuss the dissociation behavior of the side-on H2O molecules on the top site of hexagonal and tetragonal planes, respectively.

The adsorption and dissociation of O2 molecules on W(111) surface have been studied at the density functional theory (DFT) level in conjunction with the projector augmented wave (PAW) method. All passable dissociation reaction paths of O2 molecule on W(111) surface are considered. The nudged elastic band (NEB) method is applied to locate transition states, and minimum energy pathways (MEP). We find that there is an existing of little barriers for the dissociations reaction of O2 molecule. Ab initio molecular dynamics simulation is also preformed to study the adsorption and dissociation mechanism of O2 molecules on the W(111) surface. Our results indicate that O2 molecule will be dissociated by inclined deposition at temperature of 10 K, but can stable adsorb on top site by normal deposition. The change of bond length and adsorption energy in process of dissociation of O2 molecules on the W(111) surface are also calculated. The O2 coverage effect is also discussed in this paper.

The scratch deformation behaviors of two bicrystal coppers (Cu(100)/Cu(110) and Cu(110)/Cu(100)) during the nanoscratching process were explored and compared with their single crystal ingredients by the molecular statics simulations. The effects of lattice configuration and scratch depth were investigated in this study. The results showed that the motion of dislocations was blocked in the bicrystal interface until the dislocations accumulated enough energy to move. From the study, it was found that the bicrystal interfaces can provide resistance to the motion of dislocations, and can strengthen the mechanical properties of copper materials.

The adsorption and dissociation of H2O in Pd nanowire have been investigated by the density functional theory (DFT) studies. First, we construct Pd nanowire by basin-hopping method and use DFT calculation to find the ground state of Pd nanowire, and put the H2O molecular on different adsorption sites and the H2O molecule is found to preferentially absorb on a Top (T) site. The H2O molecule lies parallel to the Pd nanowire surface, while the O atom is bound at a Top site. We also calculate the partial density of state (PDOS) and election density difference. In addition, our calculated results demonstrate that the bonding between H2O and Pd nanowire is contributed by d orbitals of Pd nanowire and p orbitals of O atom. The nudged elastic band (NEB) method is applied to locate transition states and minimum energy pathways (MEP), and we discuss the dissociation behavior of the side-on H2O molecules on the top site of hexagonal and tetragonal planes, respectively.

The adsorption and dissociation of O2 molecules on W(111) surface have been studied at the density functional theory (DFT) level in conjunction with the projector augmented wave (PAW) method. All passable dissociation reaction paths of O2 molecule on W(111) surface are considered. The nudged elastic band (NEB) method is applied to locate transition states, and minimum energy pathways (MEP). We find that there is an existing of little barriers for the dissociations reaction of O2 molecule. Ab initio molecular dynamics simulation is also preformed to study the adsorption and dissociation mechanism of O2 molecules on the W(111) surface. Our results indicate that O2 molecule will be dissociated by inclined deposition at temperature of 10 K, but can stable adsorb on top site by normal deposition. The change of bond length and adsorption energy in process of dissociation of O2 molecules on the W(111) surface are also calculated. The O2 coverage effect is also discussed in this paper.

This study investigates the behavior of water molecules inside Au nanotubes by molecular dynamics. Different sizes of Au nanotubes under three temperatures for three levels of density of Au nanotube have been studied. The structure of each thermodynamic state is analyzed through the characterization of the hydrogen-bond network. An observation of the water molecule distribution reveals that the adsorption of water molecules creates shell-like formation of water near the Au nanotube wall, and such formations are found to be more pronounced within an Au nanotube. Au atoms of different sizes have an affinity for water molecules at different temperatures.