Solvation of Isoelectronic Halide and Alkali Metal Ions by Argon Atoms.

This work systematically examines the interactions of alkali metal cations and their isoelectronic halide counterparts with up to six solvating Ar atoms (MAr and XAr, where M = Li, Na, K, and Rb; X = H, F, Cl, and Br; and = 1-6) full geometry optimizations with the MP2 method and robust, correlation-consistent quadruple-ζ (QZ) basis sets. 116 unique MAr and XAr stationary points have been characterized on the MP2/QZ potential energy surface. To the best of our knowledge, approximately two dozen of these stationary points have been reported here for the first time.