Monte Carlo Simulation of Phase Separation Behavior in a Cu-Co Alloy Nanoparticle

The phase separation behavior in a Cu–Co nanoparticle was investigated using Monte Carlo (MC) simulation. The modified embedded atom method (MEAM) was adopted to describe the interatomic potentials for the Cu–Co alloy system. Some of the cross potential parameters were fitted with experimental data such as mixing enthalpy and lattice constants of Cu–Co alloys. The present MC simulation combined with the MEAM potential describes well the phase separation between face-centered-cubic (fcc) Cu and fcc Co during the annealing of the particle.