The nature of bonding between argon and mixed gold-silver trimers

From National Research Council Canada

DOIResolve DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201503845
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Name affiliation
  1. National Research Council of Canada. Security and Disruptive Technologies
FormatText, Article
Journal titleAngewandte Chemie: International Edition
ISSN1433-7851
Volume54
Issue36
Pages10675–10680
SubjectBinding energy; Gold; Inert gases; Infrared spectroscopy; Ionization of gases; Oligomers; Precious metals; Closed shell system; Clusters; DFT calculation; Experimental evidence; Vibrational transitions; Chemical bonds
Abstract
The controversial nature of chemical bonding between noble gases and noble metals is addressed. Experimental evidence of exceptionally strong Au-Ar bonds in Ar complexes of mixed Au-Ag trimers is presented. IR spectra reveal an enormous influence of the attached Ar atoms on vibrational modes, particularly in Au-rich trimers, where Ar atoms are heavily involved owing to a relativistically enhanced covalency. In Ag-rich trimers, vibrational transitions of the metal framework predominate, indicating a pure electrostatic character of the Ag-Ar bonds. The experimental findings are analyzed by means of DFT calculations, which show how the relativistic differences between Au and Ag are manifested in stronger Au-Ar binding energies. Because of the ability to vary composition and charge distribution, the trimers serve as ideal model systems to study the chemical nature of the bonding of noble gases to closed-shell systems containing gold.
Publication date
LanguageEnglish
Peer reviewedYes
NPARC number21276948
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