The ionic KAl13 molecule: A stepping stone to cluster-assembled materials

2006 
Theoretical calculations by Khanna and Jena predicted KAl13 to be an ionically bonded, cluster-assembled “diatomic molecule,” i.e., K+Al13−. We have conducted both mass spectral and anion photoelectron spectroscopic studies on KAln−, finding a “dip” at n=13 in both their mass spectrum and in their electron affinity versus n trend. While these largely qualitative results are consistent with KAl13 being a salt, they can also be explained in terms of the shell model and thus, by themselves, are not conclusive. Quantitative comparisons between calculated photodetachment transition energies and the photoelectron spectrum of KAl13−, however, allow a strong case to be made for ionic bonding in KAl13. As a prototype for ionic bonding involving intact Al13− subunits, KAl13 may be a stepping stone toward forming ionic, cluster-assembled materials.
    • Correction
    • Source
    • Cite
    • Save
    • Machine Reading By IdeaReader
    27
    References
    72
    Citations
    NaN
    KQI
    []