A molecular dynamics simulation of hexagonal solid platinum nanowires

Experimental evidence of the existence of multi-wall platinum (Pt) nanowires (NWs) has been reported. In this paper, we investigated structural formation of Pt NWs using the classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulation method. The simulations began from initial configurations with random distributions of atomic positions. The initial configuration was minimised by the steepest descent method, and assigned a temperature of 601K with a random distribution of atomic velocities. Then simulated annealing was applied such that the temperature of the system was reduced gradually to 1 K and a stable NW structure was obtained. Types of hexagonal solid Pt NWs featuring different structures than those of previously reported NWs were found. Details of structural characteristics and mechanical properties of these Pt NWs are presented.