The transformation mechanisms among cuboctahedra, Ino's decahedra and icosahedra structures of magic-size gold nanoclusters

This dataset contains structural minima, saddle-point structures, and transformation pathways of magic-size gold nanoclusters. Gold nanoclusters exhibit a complex energy landscape characterized by competing structural motifs and narrow energy gaps, which facilitate structural coexistence and rapid interconversion. In this study, we employ a high-accuracy machine-learned potential, trained on 20,000 density functional theory reference points, to investigate the structural transformation pathways of Au₅₅, Au₁₄₇, Au₃₀₉, and Au₅₆₁ nanoclusters. Our analysis encompasses transitions between cuboctahedral, Ino's decahedral, and icosahedral geometries. Saddle point searches reveal that high-symmetry transformations are governed by "jitterbug"-type and slip-dislocation motions. Furthermore, we identify lower-barrier, asymmetric pathways that facilitate the transition into disordered, Jahn–Teller-stabilized distorted icosahedra. Using Minima Hopping sampling, we uncover a variety of low-symmetry minima, including new global minima for Au₃₀₉ and Au₅₆₁ that are up to 2.8 eV lower in energy than previously reported structures. In contrast to prior computational results, our predicted transformation pathways are in qualitative agreement with experimental observations, suggesting that these newly identified disordered motifs are central to the structural evolution of gold nanoclusters.