Self-diffusion dynamic behavior of atomic clusters on Re(0 0 0 1) surface

Using molecular dynamics simulations and a modified analytic embedded atom potential, the self-diffusion dynamics of rhenium atomic clusters up to seven atoms on Re(0 0 0 1) surface have been studied in the temperature ranges from 600 K to 1900 K. The simulation time varies from 20 ns to 200 ns according to the cluster sizes and the temperature. The heptamer and trimer are more stable comparing to other neighboring non-compact clusters. The diffusion coefficients of clusters are derived from the mean square displacement of clusterʹs mass-center, and diffusion prefactors D0 and activation energies Ea are derived from the Arrhenius relation. It is found that the Arrhenius relation of the adatom can be divided into two parts at different temperature range. The activation energy of clusters increases with the increasing of the atom number in clusters. The prefactor of the heptamer is 2–3 orders of magnitude higher than a usual prefactor because of a large number of nonequivalent diffusion processes. The trimer and heptamer are the nuclei at different temperature range according to the nucleation theory.