Endohedral stannaspherenes M@Sn12(-): a rich class of stable molecular cage clusters.
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Biomedical subjects
Li-Feng Cui
Publications and source records attributed to Li-Feng Cui.
Pb12 2-: plumbaspherene.
Although Si or Ge is not known to form empty cage clusters such as the fullerenes, we recently found a unique 12-atom icosahedral tin cluster, Sn12 2- (stannaspherene). Here we report photoelectron spectroscopy and theoretical evidence that Pb12 2- is also a highly stable icosahedral cage cluster and bonded by four delocalized radial pi bonds and nine delocalized on-sphere sigma bonds from the 6p orbitals of the Pb atoms. Following Sn12 2-, we coin a name, plumbaspherene, for the highly stable and nearly spherical Pb12 2- cluster, which is expected to be stable in solution and the solid state. Plumbaspherene has a diameter of approximately 6.3 A with an empty interior volume large enough to host most transition metal atoms, affording a new class of endohedral clusters.
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Sn12(2-): stannaspherene.
Stannaspherene. The Sn122- cluster is discovered to be a highly stable and highly symmetric icosahedral cage bonded by four delocalized radial pi bonds and nine delocalized on-sphere sigma bonds from the 5p orbitals of the Sn atoms. It has a diameter of 6.1 A, with a large empty interior volume, and can host most transition metal atoms inside, giving rise to a large class of endohedral chemical building blocks for cluster-assembled nanomaterials.
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Experimental and computational studies of alkali-metal coinage-metal clusters.
Coinage and alkali metal mixed clusters, M4Na- (M = Cu, Au) have been investigated experimentally using photoelectron spectroscopy and computationally at correlated ab initio levels. The related Cu4Li-, Ag4Li-, Ag4Na-, and Au4Li- clusters as well as the neutral Cu4Li2 and Cu4Na2 clusters have also been studied computationally. The calculations show that the two lowest isomers of the negatively charged clusters include a pyramidal C4v structure and a planar C2v species. For Cu4Li- and Cu4Na-, the C4v structure is calculated at correlated ab initio level to be 30.9 and 16.9 kJ/mol below the planar C2v isomer, whereas the planar isomers of Au4Li- and Au4Na- are found to be 29.7 and 49.4 kJ/mol below the pyramidal ones. For Ag4Li- and Ag4Na-, the pyramidal isomers are the lowest ones. Comparison of the calculated and measured photoelectron spectra of Cu4Na- and Au4Na- shows that the pyramidal Cu4Na- cluster of C4v symmetry and the planar Au4Na- of C2v symmetry are detected experimentally. Calculations of the magnetically induced current density in Cu4Li- and Cu4Li2 using the Gauge-Including Magnetically Induced Current (GIMIC) method show that strong ring currents are sustained mainly by the highest-occupied molecular orbital primarily derived from the Cu 4s. The GIMIC calculations thus show that the Cu4(2-) ring is -aromatic and that the d orbitals do not play any significant role for the electron delocalization effects. The present study does not support the notion that the square-planar Cu4(2-) is the first example of d-orbital aromatic molecules.
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On the structure and chemical bonding of Si6(2-) and Si6(2-) in NaSi6(-) upon Na+ coordination.
Photoelectron spectroscopy was combined with ab initio calculations to elucidate the structure and bonding in Si6 2- and NaSi6 -. Well-resolved electronic transitions were observed in the photoelectron spectra of Si6 - and NaSi6 - at three photon energies (355, 266, and 193 nm). The spectra of NaSi6 - were observed to be similar to those of Si6 - except that the electron binding energies of the former are lower, suggesting that the Si6 motif in NaSi6 - is structurally and electronically similar to that in Si6 -. The electron affinities of Si6 and NaSi6 were measured fairly accurately to be 2.23+/-0.03 eV and 1.80+/-0.05 eV, respectively. Global minimum structure searches for Si6 2- and NaSi6 - were performed using gradient embedded genetic algorithm followed by B3LYP, MP2, and CCSDT calculations. Vertical electron detachment energies were calculated for the lowest Si6 - and NaSi6 - structures at the CCSD(T)/6-311+G(2df), ROVGF/6-311+G(2df), UOVGF/6-311+G(2d), and time-dependent B3LYP/6-311+G(2df) levels of theory. Experimental vertical detachment energies were used to verify the global minimum structure for NaSi6 -. Though the octahedral Si6 2-, analogous to the closo form of borane B6H6 2-, is the most stable form for the bare hexasilicon dianion, it is not the kernel for the NaSi6 - global minimum. The most stable isomer of NaSi6 - is based on a Si6 2- motif, which is distorted into C2v symmetry similar to the ground state structure of Si6 -. The octahedral Si6 2- coordinated by a Na+ is a low-lying isomer and was also observed experimentally. The chemical bonding in Si6 2- and NaSi6 - was understood using natural bond orbital, molecular orbital, and electron localization function analyses.
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Photoelectron spectroscopy of AlnD2- (n=3-15): observation of chemisorption and physisorption of dideuterium on aluminum cluster anions.
Photoelectron spectroscopy is used to investigate aluminum dideuteride cluster anions, AlnD2- (n=3,6-15), produced by laser vaporization of a pure Al target with a D2-seeded helium carrier gas. Comparison between the well-resolved photoelectron spectra of AlnD2- and Aln- reveals the nature of interactions between D2 and Aln-. Depending on the size of the Aln- clusters and their electronic structure, three types of AlnD2- species are observed, dideuteride (dissociative chemisorption), molecular chemisorption, and physisorption. Striking spectral similarities are observed between photoelectron spectra of AlnD2- and Aln- for n=9, 11, 13, and 15, suggesting that D2 is physisorbed on these closed-shell Aln- clusters. For AlnD2- with n=3, 6, 7, and 10, completely different spectra are observed in comparison with the corresponding Aln- clusters, suggesting that the AlnD2- species may be characterized as dideuterides. For AlnD2- with n=8, 12, and 14, in which the Aln- clusters are open shell, the D2 is characterized as chemisorption on the basis of spectral shifts and similarities relative to those of the corresponding Aln- clusters.
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Structural evolution of anionic silicon clusters SiN (20 <or= N <or= 45).
Results of a combined photoelectron spectroscopy and first-principles density-functional study of SiN- clusters in the size range 20 or= 20. For 28 <or= N <or= 45, almost all low-lying near-spherical clusters SiN- adopt "stuffed-cage"-like structures where the cages are homologous to carbon fullerenes in the sense that they are composed of only five- and six-membered rings. However the arrangement of the "stuffing" atoms is not yet diamondlike.
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Chemical bonding in Si5(2-) and NaSi5(-) via photoelectron spectroscopy and ab initio calculations.
Photoelectron spectroscopy and ab initio calculations are used to investigate the electronic structure and chemical bonding of Si5(-) and Si5(2-) in NaSi5(-). Photoelectron spectra of Si5(-) and NaSi5(-) are obtained at several photon energies and are compared with theoretical calculations at four different levels of theory, TD-B3LYP, R(U)OVGF, UCCSD(T), and EOM-CCSD(T), all with 6-311+G(2df) basis sets. Excellent agreement is observed between experiment and theory, confirming the obtained ground-state structures for Si5(-) and Si5(2-), which are both found to be trigonal bipyramid with D3h symmetry at several levels of theory. Chemical bonding in Si5, Si5(-), and Si5(2-) is analyzed using NPA, molecular orbitals, ELF, and NICS indices. The bonding in Si5(2-) is compared with that in the isoelectronic and isostructural B5H5(2-) species, but they are found to differ due to the involvement of electron densities, which are supposed to be lone pairs in the skeletal bonding in Si5(2-).
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Magnetic properties in transition-metal-doped gold clusters: M@Au6 (M = Ti, V, Cr).
The electronic structure and magnetic properties in a series of transition-metal-doped Au clusters, MAu6- (M = Ti, V, Cr), are investigated experimentally using photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) and density functional calculations. PES features due to the impurity atoms and the host are clearly observed. It is found that all the MAu6- and MAu6 clusters possess a planar structure, in which the transition metal atom is located in the center of an Au6 ring and carries large magnetic moments (2, 3, and 4 muB for MAu6, M = Ti, V, and Cr, respectively).
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Electronic and structural evolution and chemical bonding in ditungsten oxide clusters: W2O(n)- and W2O(n) (n = 1-6).
We report a systematic and comprehensive investigation of the electronic structures and chemical bonding in a series of ditungsten oxide clusters, W2O(n)- and W2O(n) (n = 1-6), using anion photoelectron spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Well-resolved photoelectron spectra were obtained at several photon energies (2.331, 3.496, 4.661, 6.424, and 7.866 eV), and W 5d-based spectral features were clearly observed and distinguished from O 2p-based features. More complicated spectral features were observed for the oxygen-deficient clusters because of the W 5d electrons. With increasing oxygen content in W2O(n)-, the photoelectron spectra were observed to shift gradually to higher binding energies, accompanied by a decreasing number of W 5d-derived features. A behavior of sequential oxidation as a result of charge transfers from W to O was clearly observed. A large energy gap (2.8 eV) was observed in the spectrum of W2O6-, indicating the high electronic stability of the stoichiometric W2O6 molecule. Extensive DFT calculations were carried out to search for the most stable structures of both the anion and neutral clusters. Time-dependent DFT method was used to compute the vertical detachment energies and compare to the experimental data. Molecular orbitals were used to analyze the chemical bonding in the ditungsten oxide clusters and to elucidate their electronic and structural evolution.
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Electronic structure and chemical bonding in MO(n)- and MO(n) clusters (M = Mo, W; n = 3-5): a photoelectron spectroscopy and ab initio study.
Photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) and ab initio calculations are combined to investigate the electronic structure of MO(n)- clusters (M = W, Mo; n = 3-5). Similar PES spectra were observed between the W and Mo species. A large energy gap between the first and second PES bands was observed for MO3- and correlated with a stable closed-shell MO3 neutral cluster. The electron binding energies of MO4- increase significantly relative to those of MO3-, and there is also an abrupt spectral pattern change between MO3- and MO4-. Both MO4- and MO5- give PES features with extremely high electron binding energies (>5.0 eV) due to oxygen-2p-based orbitals. The experimental results are compared with extensive density functional and ab initio [CCSD(T)] calculations, which were performed to elucidate the electronic and structural evolution for the tungsten oxide clusters. WO3 is found to be a closed-shell, nonplanar molecule with C3v symmetry. WO4 is shown to have a triplet ground state (3A2) with D2d symmetry, whereas WO5 is found to be an unusual charge-transfer complex, (O2-)WO3+. WO4 and WO5 are shown to possess W-O* and O2-* radical characters, respectively.
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