Comprehensive understanding of size‐, shape‐, and composition‐dependent polarizabilities of SimCn (m,n = 1–4) clusters

We performed a comprehensive study of the size‐, shape‐, and composition‐dependent polarizabilities of Si_mC_n (m, n = 1–4) clusters on the basis of the density‐functional‐based coupled perturbed Hartree–Fock calculations. We found better correlations between the polarizabilities and both the binding energies (E_b) and change in charge distribution (Δq) than the energy gaps. The α values exhibit overall decreasing and increasing trends with increases in the E_b and Δq values, respectively. For isomers with the same E_b values and different polarizabilities, Δq can well explain the difference in polarizabilities. The π‐electron delocalization effect is the best factor for understanding the shape‐dependence. For a given m/n value, the linear clusters have an obviously larger polarizability than both the prolate and compact clusters, irrespective of the cluster size. We fit a quantitative expression α = A ? (A ? B) × exp(?k(m/n))] to describe the composition‐dependent polarizabilities. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.