Does the "superatom" exist in halogenated aluminum clusters?
We have shown that Aln clusters do not show any characteristics of a superatom in halogenated aluminum clusters. The enhanced stability of halogenated Al clusters can be explained by the magic nature of the clusters, not by superatom chemistry. The presence of even a few electronegative elements provides significant perturbation to the molecular orbitals of Al clusters and stabilizes the electropositive Al cluster cores, closely correlating with metal cluster-ligand chemistry. Our work provides significant chemical insights into the understanding of the structure and stability of halogenated aluminum clusters, and these new insights are applicable to other metal cluster-ligand systems.
Han
Young-Kyu
YK
Computational Chemistry Laboratory, Corporate R&D, LG Chem, Ltd., Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-380, Korea.
Jung
Jaehoon
J