Ab initio modeling of diamond nanowire structures

Presented are results of our ab initio study of the structural relaxation of diamond nanowires, with dodecahedral and cubododecahedral morphology, showing that the energetic and structural stability of a diamond nanowire is dependent on both the surface morphology and the crystallographic direction of the principal axis. Although all structures under consideration exhibited significant changes in the length and cross-sectional area, nanowires with the principal axis in the [110] direction appear less structurally favorable.