Simulations of surface evolution due to particulate-surface interaction

In this work, MD trajectory simulations of ice-like argon and amorphous silica aggregates have been performed on the HOPG and crystalline quartz surface. The ince-like Ar aggregate showed tendency to deform and fragment upon contact with the surface while the stiffer amorphous SiO₂aggregate retained its structure and gained rotational energy upon contact with the smoother HOPG surface and got accommodated or stuck when incident on the rougher quartz surface. It was observed that the final total kinetic energy retained by the aggregates decreased as the incident velocity was increased. Fragmentation was observed only from the ice-like Ar aggregates. The time of emission of the fragmented Ar atoms was shorter when the ice-like Ar was incident on the quartz surface compared to that obtained when the aggregate was incident on the HOPG surface. Also, more number of Ar atoms were emitted when the aggregate was incident on the quartz surface compared to that from the HOPG surface. It was observed that the sticking probability of ice-like Ar aggregate is higher than that of the amorphous SiO₂aggregate when incident on the HOPG surface. The sticking probability of SiO₂is significantly higher than that of the ice-like Ar aggregate at 1.5 km/s on the quartz surface.