Teaching the Growth, Ripening, and Agglomeration of Nanostructures in Computer Experiments

摘要

This article describes the implementation and application of a metal deposition and surface diffusion Monte Carlo simulation in a physical chemistry lab course. Here the self-diffusion of Ag atoms on a Ag(111) surface is modeled and compared to published experimental results. Both the thin-film homoepitaxial growth during adatom deposition onto a single-crystal surface and the agglomeration of grown nanostructures due to Ostwald ripening during a heating experiment are simulated. In addition, a Monte Carlo classroom experiment is presented that simulates the random walk of a single Ag atom on the Ag(111) plane. These two Monte Carlo simulations allow for the teaching of random walk, surface diffusion, island formation, and agglomeration. The universal Arrhenius law is evaluated for thermally activated processes.