Density-functional study of the pure and palladium doped small copper and silver clusters

The size-dependent properties of small pure copper and silver clusters and their alloys with one and two palladium atoms are studied by using full-potential density functional computations. The stable isomers of these clusters are identified and their magic numbers are determined via the analysis of the second difference of their minimized energy. We discuss that the doped Pd generally prefers the high coordination sites of the pure cluster. It is argued that Pd doping influences the structural cross over of these clusters. The GW correction is applied for more accurate determination of the electronic structure of the systems. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.