AlH3 and Al2H6 : magic clusters with unmagical properties

Enhanced stability, low electron affinity, and high ionization potential are the hallmarks of a magic cluster. With an electron affinity of 0.28 eV, ionization potential of 11.43 eV, and a large binding energy, AlH3 satisfies these criteria. However, unlike other magic clusters that interact only weakly with each other, two AlH3 clusters bind to each other with an energy of 1.54 eV. The resulting Al2H6, while also a magic cluster in its own right, possesses the most unusual property that the difference between its adiabatic and vertical detachment energy is about 2 eV the largest of any known cluster. These results, based on density functional theory, are verified experimentally through photodetachment spectroscopy

Effect of sequential oxidation on the electronic structure of tungsten clusters

Using photoelectron spectroscopy and first principles molecular orbital calculations, we report the first observation of an abrupt change in the electronic structure of W4O-m

Appearance of bulk properties in small tungsten oxide clusters

Contrary to the conventional understanding that atomic clusters usually differ in properties and structure from the bulk constituents of which they are comprised, we show that even a dimer of tungsten oxide (WO3)2 possesses bulklike features and the geometry of a small cluster containing only 4 tungsten and 12 oxygen atoms bears the hallmarks of crystalline tungsten oxide, WO3. This observation, based on a synergistic approach involving mass distributions under quasisteady state conditions, photoelectron spectroscopy, and first principles molecular orbital theory, not only illustrates the existence of a class of strongly covalent or ionic materials whose embryonic forms are tiny clusters but also lends the possibility that a fundamental understanding of complex processes such as catalytic reactions on surfaces may be achieved on an atomic scale with clusters as model systems