An experimental look into subelectron charge flow.
The prediction and measurement of charge distribution among interacting chemical entities in complex environments is a major challenge for modern chemistry. It encompasses information concerning fundamental quantities such as the electronic chemical potential and hardness of molecular fragments as well as their interactions with the surroundings. Although a wealth of theoretical work has been accumulated from the days of Pauling to the present, a specific molecular model system that allows quantitative and direct measurement of these properties has not yet been reported. Because atomic charges are not quantum mechanical observables, they cannot be derived from first principles, but rather they rely on the availability of high-precision experimental data and the interpretation of related experimental observables. Here, we demonstrate, for the first time, that a fragmental charge flow between a chelated metal center and reversibly bound molecules can be accurately monitored experimentally.
Yerushalmi
Roie
R
Department of Plant Sciences, The Weizmann Institute of Science, 76100 Rehovot, Israel.
Baldridge
Kim K
KK
Scherz
Avigdor
A
D004583:Electrons; D008956:Models, Chemical; D009532:Nickel / Q000737:chemistry*; D009942:Organometallic Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D010847:Picolines / Q000737:chemistry; D011725:Pyridines / Q000737:chemistry; D011789:Quantum Theory
D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D010847:Picolines; D011725:Pyridines; D009532:Nickel