Transferability of interatomic potentials for silicene

Beilstein J Nanotechnol. 2023 May 8:14:574-585. doi: 10.3762/bjnano.14.48. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

The ability of various interatomic potentials to reproduce the properties of silicene, that is, 2D single-layer silicon, polymorphs was examined. Structural and mechanical properties of flat, low-buckled, trigonal dumbbell, honeycomb dumbbell, and large honeycomb dumbbell silicene phases, were obtained using density functional theory and molecular statics calculations with Tersoff, MEAM, Stillinger-Weber, EDIP, ReaxFF, COMB, and machine-learning-based interatomic potentials. A quantitative systematic comparison and a discussion of the results obtained are reported.

Keywords: 2D materials; DFT; force fields; interatomic potentials; mechanical properties; silicene.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Science Centre (NCN – Poland) Research Project: No. 2021/43/B/ST8/03207.