Size-Dependent Structural Evolution and Chemical Reactivity of Gold Clusters
Ground-state structures and other experimentally relevant isomers of Au(15) (-) to Au(24) (-) clusters are determined through joint first-principles density functional theory and photoelectron spectroscopy measurements. Subsequent calculations of molecular O(2) adsorption to the optimal cluster structures reveal a size-dependent reactivity pattern that agrees well with earlier experiments. A detailed analysis of the underlying electronic structure shows that the chemical reactivity of the gold cluster anions can be elucidated in terms of a partial-jellium picture, where delocalized electrons occupying electronic shells move over the ionic skeleton, whose geometric structure is strongly infl…
Symmetry and Electronic Structure of Noble Metal Nanoparticles and the Role of Relativity
High resolution photoelectron spectra of cold mass selected Cu_n-, Ag_n- and Au_n- with n =53-58 have been measured at a photon energy of 6.42 eV. The observed electron density of states is not the expected simple electron shell structure, but seems to be strongly influenced by electron-lattice interactions. Only Cu55- and Ag55- exhibit highly degenerate states. This is a direct consequence of their icosahedral symmetry, as is confirmed by density functional theory calculations. Neighboring sizes exhibit perturbed electronic structures, as they are formed by removal or addition of atoms to the icosahedron and therefore have lower symmetries. Gold clusters in the same size range show complet…