Bonding Nature between Noble Gases and Small Gold Clusters.

Noble gases are usually seen as utterly inert, likewise gold, which is typically conceived as the noblest of all metals. While one may expect that noble gases bind to gold via dispersion interactions only, strong bonds can be formed between noble gas atoms and small gold clusters. We combine mass spectrometry, infrared spectroscopy, and density functional theory calculations to address the bonding nature between Au ( ≤ 4) clusters and Ar, Kr, and Xe.

The size-dependent influence of palladium doping on the structures of cationic gold clusters.

The physicochemical properties of small metal clusters strongly depend on their precise geometry. Determining such geometries, however, is challenging, particularly for clusters formed by multiple elements. In this work, we combine infrared multiple photon dissociation spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations to investigate the lowest-energy structures of Pd doped gold clusters, PdAu ( ≤ 10).

A universal signature in the melting of metallic nanoparticles.

Predicting when phase changes occur in nanoparticles is fundamental for designing the next generation of devices suitable for catalysis, biomedicine, optics, chemical sensing and electronic circuits. The estimate of the temperature at which metallic nanoparticles become liquid is, however, a challenge and a standard definition is still missing. We discover a universal feature in the distribution of the atomic-pair distances that distinguishes the melting transition of monometallic nanoparticles.

Stability of cationic silver doped gold clusters and the subshell-closed electronic configuration of AgAu.

Silver doping is a valuable route to modulate the structural, electronic, and optical properties of gold clusters. We combine photofragmentation experiments with density functional theory calculations to investigate the relative stability of cationic Ag doped Au clusters, AgAu (N ≤ 40). The mass spectra of the clusters after photofragmentation reveal marked drops in the intensity of AgAu , AgAu , and AgAu , indicating a higher relative stability of these sizes.