title: (PbS)32: a baby crystal.
abstract: Theoretical calculations based on density functional theory have found (PbS)(32) to be the smallest cubic cluster for which its inner (PbS)(4) core enjoys bulk-like coordination. Cubic (PbS)(32) is thus a "baby crystal," i.e., the smallest cluster, exhibiting sixfold coordination, that can be replicated to obtain the bulk crystal. The calculated dimensions of the (PbS)(32) cluster further provide a rubric for understanding the pattern of aggregation when (PbS)(32) clusters are deposited on a suitable surface, i.e., the formation of square and rectangular, crystalline nano-blocks with predictable dimensions. Experiments in which mass-selected (PbS)(32) clusters were soft-landed onto a highly ordered pyrolytic graphite surface and the resulting aggregates imaged by scanning tunneling microscopy provide evidence in direct support of the computational results.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, McNeese State University, Lake Charles, Louisiana 70609, USA. kiran@mcneese.edu
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kiran
authors.forename: Anil K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Kandalam
authors.forename: Rameshu
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rallabandi
authors.forename: Pratik
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Koirala
authors.forename: Xiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Howard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fairbrother
authors.forename: Gerd
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gantefoer
authors.forename: Kit
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bowen