AB-INITIO MOLECULAR-DYNAMICS STUDY OF THE INTERACTION OF ALUMINUM CLUSTERS ON A GRAPHITE SURFACE

We have used the Car-Parrinello method to study the interaction of alu minium clusters containing up to 13 atoms with a graphite substrate. F or all clusters, we find snail adsorption energies which indicate a we ak adsorbate-substrate interaction. In particular, this interaction is not strong enough to stabilize planar epitaxial structures on graphit e. The two-dimensional clusters and the more compact three-dimensional ones induce completely different substrate relaxations. We also studi ed the atomic diffusion on this surface.