A molecular dynamics study of shape transformation and melting of tetrahexahedral platinum nanoparticle

Molecular dynamics simulations are used to investigate the shape transformation and melting of tetrahexahedral platinum nanoparticle enclosed by {2 1 0} facets. The computational results demonstrate that the melting temperature deduced from the Lindemann criterion is consistent with that from the potential energy. Moreover, it is verified that the melting starts from surface into interior region. Based on the statistical radius, it is found that the shape transformation of tetrahexahedral nanoparticle occurs prior to surface pre-melting. A comparison of the results with those of a spherical nanoparticle indicates that the overall melting point is independent of particle shape.