Modeling the Migration of Platinum Nanoparticles on Surfaces Using a Kinetic Monte Carlo Approach

Authors: 
Lin Li, Philipp N Plessow, Michael Rieger, Simeon Sauer, Roel Sanchez, Ansgar Schaefer, Frank Abild-Pedersen
Year of publication: 
2017
Journal: 
Journal of Physical Chemistry C

We propose a kinetic Monte Carlo (kMC) model for simulating the movement of platinum particles on supports, based on atom-by-atom diffusion on the surface of the particle. The proposed model was able to reproduce equilibrium cluster shapes predicted using Wulff-construction. The diffusivity of platinum particles was simulated both purely based on random motion and assisted using an external field that causes a drift velocity. The overall particle diffusivity increases with temperature; however, the extracted activation barrier appears to be temperature independent. In addition, this barrier was found to increase with particle size, as well as, with the adhesion between the particle and the support.

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