Structure and stability of clusters on metal surfaces

Small clusters of 3d metals Ni/Ni(001), Cu/Cu(001), 4d-Pd/Pd(001), Ag/Ag(001), 5d-Pt/Pt(001), and Au/Au(001) are investigated by semiempirical methods using multiparticle interatomic interaction potentials. It is shown that the same magic numbers (4, 6, and 9) are characteristic for all metals indicated; these numbers are determined by the symmetry characteristics of the clusters, related to the morphology of the fcc (001) substrate. It is shown for Pt/Pt(111) that small clusters of seven, ten, and more atoms are stable for the fcc (111) surface. This confirms that the magic numbers are associated with the symmetry of the clusters.