From Gas Phase Clusters to Nanomaterials
EMSL Project ID
25099
Abstract
This proposal is a continuation of research under EMSL User Proposal #3226a. Gas phase clusters remain to be an attractive and exciting field of study for several reasons. First of all, clusters bridge molecular properties to those of the bulk from the bottom up. Second, gas phase clusters provide new opportunities to examine the nature of the chemical bond, and possibly allow new types of chemical bonds to be discovered. Third and from a more applied point of view, as the microelectronics industry has continually sought ever smaller structures for device applications, eventually the cluster properties and the related quantum size effects will be relevant when such structures approach the size regimes of just a few nanometers. Finally, but not the least, there still exists the opportunity to discover unusually stable clusters that may be used to fabricate cluster-based nanomaterials, a long time dream of cluster science. For example, the most spectacular success of cluster science has been the fundamental studies of carbon clusters in the gas phase, that led to the discovery of fullerenes and their eventual bulk synthesis. The electronic structure and its evolution with cluster size are important issues in cluster science. Photoelectron spectroscopy of size-selected anions has been established as a powerful experimental technique to probe the electronic structure of atomic clusters. This proposal describes a research program for the fundamental investigation of gas phase clusters with an emphasis on novel molecular structures and chemical bonding and with an eye on identifying potential building blocks for new materials. The proposed tasks include: (1) boron clusters and cluster complexes; (2) aluminum-alloy clusters; (3) selected metal-carbide clusters; (4) explorative synthesis of helical nanowires and cluster-based nanomaterials.
Project Details
Project type
Large-Scale EMSL Research
Start Date
2007-05-31
End Date
2010-09-30
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Team Members
Related Publications
Averkiev BB, DY Zubarev, LM Wang, W Huang, LS Wang, and AI Boldyrev. 2008. "Carbon Avoids Hypercoordination in CB6-, CB62-, and C2B5- Planar Carbon-Boron Clusters." Journal of the American Chemical Society 130(29):9248-9250. doi:10.1021/ja801211p
Huang W, S Bulusu, R Pal, XC Zeng, and LS Wang. 2009. "Structural Transition of Gold Nanoclusters: From the Golden Cage to the Golden Pyramid ." ACS Nano 3(5):1225-1230. doi:10.1021/nn900232d
Wang L, J Bai, A Lechtken, W Huang, D Schooss, MM Kappes, XC Zeng, and LS Wang. 2009. "Magnetic doping of the golden cage cluster M@Au16 ? (M=Fe,Co,Ni)." Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics 79(3):Article number: 033413.
Wang L, R Pal, W Huang, XC Zeng, and LS Wang. 2009. "Tuning the electronic properties of the golden buckyball by endohedral doping: M@Au16(-) (M=Ag,Zn, In)." Journal of Chemical Physics 130(5):Art. No. 051101.
Wang L, S Bulusu, H Zhai, XC Zeng, and LS Wang. 2007. "Doping Golden Buckyballs: Cu@Au16- and Cu@Au17- Cluster Anions." Angewandte Chemie International Edition 46(16):2915-2918. doi:10.1002/anie.200700060
Wang L, S Bulusu, W Huang, R Pal, LS Wang, and XC Zeng. 2007. "Doping the Golden Cage Au16- with Si, Ge, and Sn." Journal of the American Chemical Society 129(49):15136-15137. doi:10.1021/ja077465a
Wang L, W Huang, BB Averkiev, AI Boldyrev, and LS Wang. 2007. "CB7-: Experimental and Theoretical Evidence Against Hypercoordinated Planar Carbon." Angewandte Chemie International Edition 46(24):4550-4553.
Wang L, W Huang, LS Wang, BB Averkiev, and AI Boldyrev. 2009. "Experimental and theoretical investigation of three-dimensional nitrogen-doped aluminum clusters AI8N- and AI8N." Journal of Chemical Physics 130(13):134303-1 to 134303-7. doi:10.1063/1.3097761