ABSTRACT
Deposition at low energy of 147-atom icosahedral Co nanoclusters on Cu(001) substrates is studied by molecular-dynamics simulations. Atomic interactions were mimicked by a many-body potential based on the tight-binding second-moment approximation. Clusters were rotated by using the two first Euler angles, in the so-called "x-convention," and subsequently, they were deposited on the substrate. The dependence of the degree of epitaxy on these angles has been obtained. Epitaxy is also related to the initial number of (001)-oriented atoms, especially for extreme values of this latter quantity. A better epitaxial matching is connected with a larger spreading index. The explanation of the epitaxial behavior of the supported clusters resides mainly in the dynamical interaction between grains during approximately the first 40 ps. Whenever the newly-formed (001)-oriented grain competes against a large number of grains after the collision, a very low epitaxial matching is obtained.
