Study of low-energy impact of Pt atoms on Pt (111) doped with noble metal atoms by molecular dynamics simulation

Knowing the atomistic processes of low-energy impact is crucial for understanding the mechanisms of energetic deposition. In this study, molecular dynamics techniques were used to simulate the impact of low-energy Pt atoms on Pt (111) doped with Cu, Ag, Au, Ni, and Pd atoms using an atomic interaction potential with an embedded atom method. We studied the dependence of adatom creation, sputtering behavior, and vacancy creation on the incident energy of Pt atoms in the range 0.1 to 200 eV. It is found that doping with noble metal atoms may enable adatom yields, sputter yields, and vacancy yields to be changed. This variation can be attributed to the mass effect of dopants. Preferential sputtering of light dopants results in a reduction in the threshold energy for sputtering. We also found the cohesive energy of Pt atoms and the threshold energy for sputtering to be the measures dominating the interaction of low-energy Pt atoms with doped Pt (111) surfaces. A model based on a reflection mechanism of incident atoms in the framework of binary collision theory is suggested to describe the interaction of low-energy atoms with the doped Pt (111) surface.