Structures of Neutral Au7, Au19, and Au20 Clusters in the Gas Phase
Philipp Gruene,1
David M. Rayner,2
Britta Redlich,3
Alexander F. G. van der Meer,3
Jonathan T. Lyon,1
Gerard Meijer,1
André Fielicke1*
The catalytic properties of gold nanoparticles are determined
by their electronic and geometric structures. We revealed the
geometries of several small neutral gold clusters in the gas
phase by using vibrational spectroscopy between 47 and 220 wavenumbers.
A two-dimensional structure for neutral Au
7 and a pyramidal
structure for neutral Au
20 can be unambiguously assigned. The
reduction of the symmetry when a corner atom is cut from the
tetrahedral Au
20 cluster is directly reflected in the vibrational
spectrum of Au
19.
2 Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0R6, Canada.
3 Stichting voor Fundamenteel Onderzoek der Materie (FOM) Institute for Plasma Physics Rijnhuizen, 3439 MN Nieuwegein, Netherlands.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: fielicke{at}fhi-berlin.mpg.de
