Structural and thermal stabilities of Au@Ag core-shell nanoparticles and their arrays: A molecular dynamics simulation

Jia Hai-Hong^{1, 2}, Bao De-Liang^{1, 2}, Zhang Yu-Yang^{1, 2}, Du Shi-Xuan^{1, 2, †}

Energy evolution of Ag 7 NP array and the melting points of single Au x @Ag 7−x NPs and arrays. (a) The total energy per unit cell of Ag 7 NP array as a function of the distance between two neighboring NPs. The unit cell with the lowest energy for Ag 7 is the one in which d = 3.56 nm. Inset shows the configuration of a Ag 7 NP array and the unit cell (red rhombus). (b) Composition-dependent melting points of Au x @Ag 7−x NP arrays (red) and the corresponding single Au x @Ag 7−x NPs (black).