Structure character of copper clusters deposited on argon

Recently, the rare gas buffer has been used to deposit small metal clusters nondestructively. It presents a promising method in synthesizing the nanostructured materials. To study the collision dynamics of metal clusters on the rare gas buffer, the deposition of low energy Cu6 clusters on Ar films was investigated by molecular dynamics simulation. It was found that below 20 eV/atom the Cu clusters deposited on an Ar substrate nondestructively, while they were fragmented on a Cu surface. We observed that after deposition the Cu cluster was expanded and lost the original symmetric structure first. Then the cluster atoms recombined and the free cluster symmetry was regained. We found the Ar environment, e.g. the interaction between Ar and Ar atoms and that between Ar and Cu atoms, in the impact area helps to confine the Cu cluster.