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RESEARCH PRODUCT
Symmetry and Electronic Structure of Noble Metal Nanoparticles and the Role of Relativity
Nina MorgnerHannu HäkkinenBernd Von IssendorffMichael MoselerOleg KostkoMargarita Astruc Hoffmannsubject
PhysicsIcosahedral symmetryDegenerate energy levelsElectron shellGeneral Physics and AstronomyFOS: Physical sciencesElectronic structureSpectral lineCondensed Matter - Other Condensed MatterAb initio quantum chemistry methodsDensity of statesDensity functional theoryAtomic physicsOther Condensed Matter (cond-mat.other)description
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 completely different spectra with almost no degeneracy, which indicates that they have structures of much lower symmetry. This behaviour is related to strong relativistic bonding effects in gold, as demonstrated by ab initio calculations for Au55-.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-04-07 |