Spectroscopic studies of jet‐cooled NiAu and PtCu

Computational Characterization of the Intermixing of Iron Triade (Fe, Co, and Ni) Surfaces and Sub-nanometric Clusters with Atomic Gold

Dispersion-corrected density functional theory (DFT-D3) is applied to model iron triade (Fe, Co, and Ni) surfaces upon exchange of surface atoms with atomic gold. One first goal is to analyze the contact problem at the triade surface-Au interface and to correlate our findings with recent observations on iron triade nanoparticles (with diameters of around 5 nm) passivated by a few layers of gold. For this purpose, we analyze: (1) the energies of substitution; (2) the restructuring of the iron triade surfaces upon the atomic exchange; (3) the density of the orbitals bearing the largest projection on d(Au) atomic orbitals and, particularly, their overlap with orbitals from neighboring atoms of the triade surfaces; (4) the modification of the electronic density of states; and (5) the redistribution of the electronic density upon intermixing of Au and triade atoms. Inspite of the similarities between Ni, Co, and Fe in the condensed phase, significant differences are found in the features characterizing the exchange process. In particular, we find a better integration of the Au atom on the substitutional site of the Ni(001) surface than on those of the Fe(001) and Co(001) surfaces. This is in agreement with the fact that the electronic density of states is almost indistinguishable before and after Ni-Au intermixing. This outcome is correlated with the experimental observation on the allowing transition of Ni-Au core-shell nanoparticles before reaching the melting temperature. Our second objective is to explore the Au-triade atom intermixing process in sub-nanometric clusters, finding that it is energetically more favored than at solid surfaces yet endothermic at 0 K. This feature is explained as the result of the structural fluxionality characterizing clusters at the sub-nanometer scale. Entropy contributions make mixed Au-Ni clusters more stable than the unmixed counterpart already at 650 K while unmixed Co clusters remain energetically more favored up to 1295 K and iron clusters are predicted to be stable against intermixing over the experimentally relevant range of temperatures (up to 1100 °C). Remarkably, the net charge donated from the three triade atoms to atomic gold upon intermixing is similar in triade sub-nanometeric clusters and at extended triade surfaces. Gold clusters are prone to host Fe, Co, and Ni atoms at the center of their structures and the exchange process is predicted to be exothermic at 0 K even for a small cluster made of 13 atoms. More generally, our work highlights the importance of the polarity of the chemical bond between unlike metal atoms in alloys.

First-principle study of the structures, growth pattern, and properties of (Pt3Cu)n, n = 1-9, clusters

In this work, a first-principles systematic study of (Pt₃Cu)_n, n = 1-9, clusters was performed employing the linear combination of Gaussian-type orbital auxiliary density functional theory approach. The growth of the clusters has been achieved by increasing the previous cluster by one Pt₃Cu unit at a time. To explore in detail the potential energy surface of these clusters, initial structures were obtained from Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics trajectories generated at different temperatures and spin multiplicities. For each cluster size, several dozens of structures were optimized without any constraints. The most stable structures were characterized by frequency analysis calculations. This study demonstrates that the obtained most stable structures prefer low spin multiplicities. To gain insight into the growing pattern of these systems, average bond lengths were calculated for the lowest stable structures. This work reveals that the Cu atoms prefer to be together and to localize inside the cluster structures. Moreover, these systems tend to form octahedra moieties in the size range of n going from 4 to 9 Pt₃Cu units. Magnetic moment per atom and spin density plots were obtained for the neutral, cationic, and anionic ground state structures. Dissociation energies, ionization potential, and electron affinity were calculated, too. The dissociation energy and the electron affinity increase as the number of Pt₃Cu units grows, whereas the ionization potential decreases.

Low-Lying Electronic States of CuAu

Coinage metal diatomic molecules are building blocks for nanostructured materials, electronic devices, and catalytically or photochemically active systems that are currently receiving lively interest in both fundamental and applied research. The theoretical study presented here elucidates the electronic structure in the ground and several low-lying excited states of the diatomic molecule CuAu that result from the combination of the atoms in their ground states nd(10)(n + 1)s(1 2)S and lowest excited d-hole states nd(9)(n + 1)s(2 2)D (n = 3 for Cu, n = 5 for Au). Full and smooth potential energy curves, obtained at the multireference configuration interaction (MRCI) level of theory, are presented for the complete set of the thus resulting 44 Λ-S terms and 86 Ω terms. Our approach is based on a scalar relativistic description using the Douglas-Kroll-Hess (DKH) Hamiltonian, with subsequent perturbative inclusion of spin-orbit (SO) coupling via the spin-orbit terms of the Breit-Pauli (BP) Hamiltonian. The Ω terms span an energy interval of about 7 eV at the ground state's equilibrium distance. Spectroscopic constants, calculated for all terms, are shown to accurately reproduce the observation for those nine terms that are experimentally known.

Density functional study on the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of 3d transition-metal-doped Au5 clusters

Density functional calculations have been performed for the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of Au5M (M = Sc-Zn) clusters. Geometry optimizations indicate that the M atoms in low-energy Au5M isomers prefer to occupy the most highly coordinated position. The ground-state clusters except Au5Sc possess a planar structure. The vibrational spectra of the doped clusters are completely different from that of a pure gold cluster. The relative stability and chemical activity are investigated through the averaged binding energy and energy gap for the most stable Au5M clusters. It is found that the impurity atoms (not including the Zn atom) can enhance the thermal stability of the host cluster. The chemical activity of Au5M clusters is higher than that of the Au6 cluster. The calculated energy gaps are in accord with available approximate experimental data. The vertical ionization potential, the electron affinity, and photoelectron spectrum are computed and simulated theoretically for all of the ground-state clusters. The magnetism analyses show that the magnetic moment of these Au5M clusters varies from 0 to 5 μB by substituting a Au atom in a Au6 cluster with various M atoms and is mainly localized on the M atom for M = Ti-Ni.

Rotationally resolved spectra of jet-cooled VMo

The authors report the first gas-phase spectroscopic investigation of diatomic vanadium molybdenum (VMo). The molecules were produced by laser ablation of a VMo alloy disk and cooled in a helium supersonic expansion. The jet-cooled VMo molecules were studied using resonant two-photon ionization spectroscopy. The ground state has been demonstrated to be of (2)Delta(52) symmetry, deriving from the dsigma(2)dpi(4)ddelta(3)ssigma(2) electronic configuration. Rotational analysis has established the ground state bond length and rotational constant as r(0) (")=1.876 57(23) A and B(0) (")=0.142 861(35) cm(-1), respectively, for (51)V(98)Mo (1sigma error limits). Transitions to states with Omega(')=2.5, Omega(')=3.5, and Omega(')=1.5 have been recorded and rotationally analyzed. A band system originating at 15 091 cm(-1) has been found to exhibit a vibrational progression with omega(e) (')=752.7 cm(-1), omega(e) (')x(e) (')=12.8 cm(-1), and r(0) (')=1.90 A for (51)V(98)Mo. The measured bond lengths (r(0)) of V(2), VNb, Nb(2), Cr(2), CrMo, Mo(2), VCr, NbCr, and VMo have been used to derive multiple bonding radii for these elements of r(V)=0.8919 A, r(Nb)=1.0424 A, r(Cr)=0.8440 A, and r(Mo)=0.9725 A. These values reproduce the bond lengths of all nine diatomics to an accuracy of +/-0.012 A or better.

Relativistic DFT Studies of Dehydrogenation of Methane by Pt Cationic Clusters: Cooperative Effect of Bimetallic Clusters

The dehydrogenation reaction mechanisms of methane catalyzed by transition-metal clusters PtM(+) (M = Cu, Ag, Au) and Pt(n)(+) (n = 2-4) have been investigated theoretically. In the reactions of PtM(+) (M = Cu, Ag, Au) with CH(4), cleavage of the first C-H bond is quite facile without barrier. The second C-H bond activation and the release of H(2) from molecular complex are generally the rate-determining steps. In the reactions of platinum clusters Pt(n)()(+) (n = 2-4) with CH(4), the H(2) elimination from the dihydrogen complex is the rate-determining step. Spin crossover may occur in the reaction of Pt(2)(+) and CH(4). Pt(2)(+) and Pt(3)(+) can dehydrogenate methane efficiently due to remarkable thermodynamic stability of the products. The dehydrogenation of methane induced by Pt(4)(+) is less favored thermodynamically than Pt(n)()(+) (n = 1, 2, 3). On the basis of theoretical analyses, the differences in reactivity among the clusters and the nature of cooperative effect of the bimetallic cluster have been discussed. The calculated results provide a reasonable basis for understanding of experimental observations.

Monoligated Monovalent Ni: the 3dNi9 Manifold of States of NiCu and Comparison to the 3d9 States of AlNi, NiH, NiCl, and NiF

A dispersed fluorescence investigation of the low-lying electronic states of NiCu has allowed the observation of four out of the five states that derive from the 3d(Ni)9 3d(Cu)10 sigma2 manifold. Vibrational levels of the ground X2delta(5/2) state corresponding to v = 0-11 are observed and are fit to provide omega(e) = 275.93 +/- 1.06 cm(-1) and omega(e)x(e) = 1.44 +/- 0.11 cm(-1). The v = 0 levels of the higher lying states deriving from the 3d(Ni)9 3d(Cu)10 sigma2 manifold are located at 912, 1466, and 1734 cm(-1), and these states are assigned to omega values of 3/2, 1/2, and 3/2, respectively. The last of these assignments is based on selection rules and is unequivocal; the first two are based on a comparison to ab initio and ligand field calculations and could conceivably be in error. It is also possible that the v = 0 level of the state found at 912 cm(-1) is not observed, so that T0 for the lowest excited state actually lies near 658 cm(-1). These results are modeled using a matrix Hamiltonian based on the existence of a ground manifold of states deriving from the 3d9 configuration on nickel. This matrix Hamiltonian is also applied to the spectroscopically well-known molecules AlNi, NiH, NiCl, and NiF. The term energies of the 2sigma+, 2pi, and 2delta states of these molecules, which all derive from a 3d9 configuration on the nickel atom, display a clear and understandable trend as a function of the electronegativity of the ligands.

Geometric, electronic, and bonding properties of AuNM (N=1–7, M=Ni, Pd, Pt) clusters

Employing first-principles methods, based on density functional theory, we report the ground state geometric and electronic structures of gold clusters doped with platinum group atoms, Au(N)M (N = 1-7, M = Ni, Pd, Pt). The stability and electronic properties of Ni-doped gold clusters are similar to that of pure gold clusters with an enhancement of bond strength. Due to the strong d-d or s-d interplay between impurities and gold atoms originating in the relativistic effects and unique properties of dopant delocalized s-electrons in Pd- and Pt-doped gold clusters, the dopant atoms markedly change the geometric and electronic properties of gold clusters, and stronger bond energies are found in Pt-doped clusters. The Mulliken populations analysis of impurities and detailed decompositions of bond energies as well as a variety of density of states of the most stable dopant gold clusters are given to understand the different effects of individual dopant atom on bonding and electronic properties of dopant gold clusters. From the electronic properties of dopant gold clusters, the different chemical reactivity toward O(2), CO, or NO molecule is predicted in transition metal-doped gold clusters compared to pure gold clusters.