Phase transitions and kinetic properties of gold nanoparticles confined between two-layer graphene nanosheets

• The confined gold nanoparticles have face center cubic structure.
• The confined gold nanoparticles freeze start from the outmost layers.
• The freezing transition mechanism of a confined gold cluster is revealed.
• The two-layer-GNS support with smaller hole diameter can stabilize smaller gold nanoparticles.
• Some important kinetic parameters of confined gold nanoparticles are estimated.

The thermodynamic and kinetic behaviors of gold nanoparticles confined between two-layer graphene nanosheets (two-layer-GNSs) are examined and investigated during heating and cooling processes via molecular dynamics (MD) simulation technique. An EAM potential is applied to represent the gold–gold interactions while a Lennard–Jones (L–J) potential is used to describe the gold–GNS interactions. The MD melting temperature of 1345 K for bulk gold is close to the experimental value (1337 K), confirming that the EAM potential used to describe gold–gold interactions is reliable. On the other hand, the melting temperatures of gold clusters supported on graphite bilayer are corrected to the corresponding experimental values by adjusting the εAu–C value. Therefore, the subsequent results from current work are reliable. The gold nanoparticles confined within two-layer GNSs exhibit face center cubic structures, which is similar to those of free gold clusters and bulk gold. The melting points, heats of fusion, and heat capacities of the confined gold nanoparticles are predicted based on the plots of total energies against temperature. The density distribution perpendicular to GNS suggests that the freezing of confined gold nanoparticles starts from outermost layers. The confined gold clusters exhibit layering phenomenon even in liquid state. The transition of order–disorder in each layer is an essential characteristic in structure for the freezing phase transition of the confined gold clusters. Additionally, some vital kinetic data are obtained in terms of classical nucleation theory.

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