Determining the size-dependent structure of ligand-free gold-cluster ions.
Ligand-free metal clusters can be prepared over a wide size range, but only in comparatively small amounts. Determining their size-dependent properties has therefore required the development of experimental methods that allow characterization of sample sizes comprising only a few thousand mass-selected particles under well-defined collision-free conditions. In this review, we describe the application of these methods to the geometric structural determination of Au(n)(+) and Au(n)(-) with n = 3-20. Geometries were assigned by comparing experimental data, primarily from ion-mobility spectrometry and trapped ion electron diffraction, to structural models from quantum chemical calculations.
Institute of Physical Chemistry, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany.
Detlef
D
Schooss
Patrick
P
Weis
Oliver
O
Hampe
Manfred M
MM
Kappes