title: Transition from a Bloch-Wilson to a free-electron density of states in Zn(n)- clusters.
abstract: We present photoelectron spectroscopy studies on Zn(n) (-) in the size range of n=3-117. We show that zinc clusters exhibit a distinct transition in their electronic structure as a function of size. At small sizes (up to n=18) the clusters follow the Bloch-Wilson picture of the development of a metal from closed-shell atoms, exhibiting a gradual decrease of the gap between the fully occupied s band and the empty p band. For large sizes (n approximately or > 32) the band overlap allows the valence electrons to fully delocalize. This leads to an almost perfect free-electron density of states, as is demonstrated by discussing the spectra in the light of standard free-electron models and by comparison to the results obtained on sodium clusters.
authors.affiliation: Fakultät für Physik, Universität Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Strasse 21, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Oleg
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kostko
authors.forename: Gert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wrigge
authors.forename: Ori
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Cheshnovsky
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: von Issendorff