AVS 50th International Symposium
    Nanometer Structures Tuesday Sessions
       Session NS-TuP

Paper NS-TuP29
Self-organizing Processes in Connection with Nanocluster States

Tuesday, November 4, 2003, 5:30 pm, Room Hall A-C

Session: Poster Session
Presenter: W. Schommers, Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Germany
Authors: W. Schommers, Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Germany
M. Rieth, Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Germany
S. Baskoutas, University of Patras, Greece
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In the past experimental as well as theoretical investigations have shown that the structure of metallic nanoclusters most often deviates significantly from those of the bulk. With the help of molecular dynamics calculations we demonstrate how the transition from bulk structured materials to nanostructured clusters might take place, e.g., during a production process. In connection with such structural transitions one result is rather interesting: the occurrence of meta-stable cluster states. The conditions under which such meta-stable nanostructures might be possible and how their life-time could be influenced is systematically investigated. Such structurally meta-stable atomic compounds are commonly known in connection with huge complicated inorganic molecules. Especially in biology such meta-stable molecules are most often observed to store energy or to act as propulsion system in one way or another by changing parts of its structure. Our molecular dynamical investigations have shown that specific metallic nanoclusters behave similar. In this connection we also tried to answer the following questions: How is the dynamics of nanoclusters changed when they transform from the metastable to the stable state? Is this behavior restricted to specific materials? And what is the underlying mechanism?