The formation of pentagonal Ni nanowires: dependence on the stretching direction and the temperature

Abstract

Abstract We have constructed computational minimum cross‐section histograms that statistically unveil the presence of preferred configuration during the breakage of Ni nanowires. The computed histograms showed strong dependence on the nanowire stretching direction. For the [100] and [110] stretching directions we have observed a very large peak associated to a minimum cross‐section of 5 atoms. We have confirmed that the configurations that contribute to this peak are staggered pentagonal nanowires. We have found that the formation of these nanowires is enhanced by increasing the temperature up to 550 K. At higher temperatures, the formation of pentagonal nanowires declines due to the competence against the nanowire melting processes. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)