title: Alkali halide clusters produced by fast ion impact.
abstract: The most abundant geometries and relative stabilities of alkali halide clusters with a (XY)(n) (o) configuration (e.g., LiF, NaCl, KBr) are described. Five main series were obtained: linear, cyclic, cubic, arc strips and nanotubes. The stability analysis shows that higher members are likely to be formed from the lower member of the same series and/or from two building blocks (n = 1, 2). The energy analysis (D-plot) indicates that the most compact ones (e.g., cubic and nanotubes) present higher stability when compared to the linear, cyclic and arc strip structures; moreover, relative stability between the cubic and nanotube series varies with the cluster size.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77940-3012.
authors.forename: Francisco Alberto
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Fernandez-Lima
authors.forename: Marco Antonio Chaer
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Nascimento
authors.forename: Enio Frota
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: da Silveira