Hannover 2010 – scientific programme

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MO: Fachverband Molekülphysik

MO 18: Cluster I

MO 18.2: Talk

Thursday, March 11, 2010, 10:45–11:00, F 102

Superhalogenic Au_n(BO₂)-based clusters: Simulation and Experiment — •Susanne S. Pfeifer¹, Matthias Götz¹, Gerd F. Ganteför¹, and Puru Jena² — ¹Department of Physics, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany — ²Department of Physics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, USA

Superhalogens, such as BO₃, are characterised by larger electron affinities (EA) than any halogen atom. Recently they attracted considerable interest in the cluster community. Due to the ionic character of the bond among superhalogens and metallic clusters, it is possible to design a novel type of cluster-based salt, where the agglomeration of clusters is prevented by electrostatic repulsion. Hence superhalogenic clusters may lead to the synthesis of new materials with unique electronic and magnetic properties, which are tuneable by the clusters.

Herein, we study gas phase Au_n(BO₂) cluster anions using photoelectron spectroscopy and compare the experimental data to the results of DFT calculations. Surprisingly, the geometric structure and certain electronic properties of the gold clusters within Au_n(BO₂)-species are comparable to pure gold clusters, i. e. an inverse even-odd-alternation of the EA is observed also for Au_n(BO₂) clusters. This finding supports the idea of using superhalogens to stabilise metal clusters to create new bulk solids. Moreover, the EA can be increased further by modifying the Au_n(BO₂) cluster, e. g. with additional O or BO₂. Hence, the electronic properties can be adjusted.