Structure,stability, catalytic activity,and polarizabilities of small iridium clusters

At the second order Douglas–Kroll–Hess(DKH2) level, the B3 PW91 functional in conjunction with the relativistic all-electron basis set of valence triple zeta quality plus polarization functions are employed to compute bond lengths, dissociation energies, vertical ionization potentials, and the highest occupied molecular orbital-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy gaps of the small iridium clusters(Ir_n, n≤8). These results are compared with the experimental and theoretical data available in the literature. Our results confirm the theoretical predictions made by Feng et al. about the catalytic activities of the Ir_4 and Ir_6 clusters. From the optimized geometries, DKH2 calculations of static electric mean dipole polarizabilities and polarizability anisotropies are also carried out. It is the first time that the polarizabilities of small iridium clusters have been studied. For n≤4, the mean dipole polarizabilities per atom present an odd–even oscillatory behavior,whereas from Ir_5 to Ir_8, they decrease with the cluster size increasing. The dependence of the polarizability anisotropy on the structure symmetry of the iridium cluster is verified.     

Theoretical study of small Mo clusters and molecular nitrogen adsorption on Mo clusters

This paper studies the small molybdenum clusters of Mo_n (n=2--8) and their adsorption of N₂ molecule by using the density functional theory (DFT) with the generalized gradient approximation. The optimized structures of Mo_n clusters show the onset of a structural transition from a close-packed structure towards a body-centred cubic structure occurred at n=7. An analysis of adsorption energies suggests that the Mo₂ is of high inertness and Mo₆ cluster is of high activity against the adsorption of N₂. Calculated results indicate that the N₂ molecule prefers end-on mode by forming a linear or quasi-linear structure Mo--N--N, and the adsorption of nitrogen on molybdenum clusters is molecular adsorption with slightly elongated N--N bond. The electron density of highest occupied molecular orbital and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital, and the partial density of states of representative cluster are also used to characterize the adsorption properties of N₂ on the sized Mo_n clusters.     

Structures,stabilities, and electronic properties of F-doped Sin （n=1～12） clusters：Density functional theory investigation

The geometries, stabilities, and electronic properties of FSin （n=1～12） clusters are systematically investigated by using first-principles calculations based on the hybrid density-functional theory at the B3LYP/6-311G level. The geometries are found to undergo a structural change from two-dimensional to three-dimensional structure when the cluster size n equals 3. On the basis of the obtained lowest-energy geometries, the size dependencies of cluster properties, such as averaged binding energy, fragmentation energy, second-order energy difference, HOMO–LUMO （highest occupied molecular orbital–lowest unoccupied molecular orbital） gap and chemical hardness, are discussed. In addition, natural population analysis indicates that the F atom in the most stable FSin cluster is recorded as being negative and the charges always transfer from Si atoms to the F atom in the FSin clusters.     

Static electric dipole polarizability of lithium atoms in Debye plasmas

<正>The static electric dipole polarizabilities of the ground state and n≤3 excited states of a lithium atom embedded in a weekly coupled plasma environment are investigated as a function of the plasma screening radium.The plasma screening of the Coulomb interaction is described by the Debye-H（u|¨）ckel potential and the interaction between the valence electron and the atomic core is described by a model potential.The electron energies and wave functions for both the bound and continuum states are calculated by solving the Schrodinger equation numerically using the symplectic integrator.The oscillator strengths,partial-wave,and total static dipole polarizabilities of the ground state and n≤3 excited states of the lithium atom are calculated.Comparison of present results with those of other authors, when available,is made.The results for the 2s ground state demonstrated that the oscillator strengths and the static dipole polarizabilities from np orbitals do not always increase or decrease with the plasma screening effect increasing, unlike that for hydrogen-like ions,especially for 2s→3p transition there is a zero value for both the oscillator strength and the static dipole polarizability for screening length D = 10.3106a₀,which is associated with the Cooper minima.     

Dipole(hyper)polarizabilities of neutral silver clusters

At the Douglas–Kroll–Hess(DKH) level, the B3PW91 functional along with the all-electron relativistic basis sets of valence triple and quadruple zeta qualities are used to determine the structure, stability, and electronic properties of the small silver clusters(Agn, n≤7). The results presented in this study are in good agreement with the experimental data and theoretical values obtained at a higher level of theory from the literature. Static polarizability and hyperpolarizability are also reported. It is verified that the mean dipole polarizability per atom exhibits an odd-even oscillation and that the polarizability anisotropy is directly related to the cluster shape. In this article, the first study of hyperpolarizabilities of small silver clusters is presented. Except for the monomer, the second hyperpolarizabilities of the silver clusters are significantly larger than those of the copper clusters.     

DFT study on the structure and spectra of GasP5 cluster

In this paper, possible structures of GasP5 cluster were optimized by using density functional method with generalized gradient correction （B3LYP）. The electronic structure of the isomers with lower energy was studied. The most stable structure obtained for GasP5 is a distorted pentaprism. The Ga-P bond formed in the cluster is strongly ionic. Based on NBO analysis, an average value of 0.59 electron transfers from Gallium to Phosphorus. The bond length 2.33-2.43 is around the value in bulk GaP. The HOMO-LUMO gap is about 2.2 eV. The dipole moment and polarizability are calculated, and the IR and Raman spectra are also presented.     

Density functional theory study on the structure and properties of Si3N4 clusters

The hybrid density functional theory B3LYP with basis sets 6-31G＊ has been used to study on the equilibrium geometries and electronic structures of possible isomers of Si3N4 clusters. 24 possible isomers are obtained. The most stable isomer of Si3N4 is a 3D structure with 7 Si-N bonds and 2 N-N bonds that could beformed by 3 quadrangles. The bond properties of the most stable isomer was analyzed by using natural bond orbital method （NBO）, the results suggest that the charges on Si and N atoms in Si-N bonds are quite large, so theinteraction of N-Si atoms in Si3N4 cluster is of strongly electric interaction. The primary IR and Raman vibrational frequency located at 1033.40 cm^-1, 473.63 cm^-1 respectively. The polarizabilities and hyperpolarizabilities of the most stable isomer are also analyzed.     

Structure and magnetic properties of Osn （n=11～22） clusters

The structure and magnetic properties of Osn （n=11～22） clusters are systematically studied by using density functional theory （DFT）. For each size, the average binding energy per atom, the second-order differences of total energies and the highest occupied molecular orbital （HOMO）–the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital （LUMO） gaps are calculated to analyze the stability of the cluster. The structures of Os14 and Os18 clusters are based on a close-packed hexagonal structure, and they have maximum stabilities, so n=14, 18 are the magic numbers. The 5d electrons play a dominant role in the chemical reaction of Osn clusters. The magnetic moments of Osn clusters are quenched around n=12, and when n=18～22 the value approximates to zero, due to the difference of electron transfer.     

Precision Calculations of Atomic Polarizabilities: A Relevant Physical Quantity in Modern Atomic Frequency Standard

Electric dipole polarizabilities of atoms are very important in many different physical applications, such as the precision atomic frequency standard. Calculations of these properties are very important and challenging. We propose a calculation strategy to calculate the frequency dependent dipole polarizabilities with high precision variationally by using a set of high quality orbital bases where the electron correlations can be taken into account adequately. The static polarizabilitiez of the ground state of Na are calculated accurately by such a method and can be compared with precision experiment measurement directly. The calculation result is in excellent agreement with the available experimental measurements within about 0.1~, which demonstrates the validity of our strategy. Our calculation strategy has a wide usage, not only in polarizibilies, but also in other fields such as theoretical treatment of electron-atom scattering processes. Using the same orbital bases, we carry out precision calculation of Na- affinities. Our calculated affinity is in excellent agreement with precision laser spectroscopy measurements within 0. 1%.     

The geometry structures and electronic properties of Li_mB_n(m+n=12) clusters

The geometric structures, electronic properties, total and binding energies, harmonic frequencies, the highest occupied molecular orbital to the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy gaps, and the vertical ionization potential energies of small LimBn （m＋ n = 12） clusters were investigated by the density functional theory B3LYP with a 6-31 I＋G （2d, 2p） basis set. All the calculations were performed using the Gaussian09 program. For the study of the LimBn clusters, the global minimum of the B 12 cluster was chosen as the starting point and the boron atoms were gradually replaced by Li atoms. The results showed that as the number of Li atoms increased, the stability of the LimBn cluster decreased and the physical and chemical properties became more active. In addition, on average there was a large charge transfer from the Li atoms to the B atoms.     

Structures,stabilities,and electronic properties of GaAs tubelike clusters and single-walled GaAs nanotubes

<正>The geometric structures,stabilities,and electronic properties of(GaAs)_n tubelike clusters at up to n=120 and single-walled GaAs nanotubes(GaAsNTs) were studied by density functional theory(DFT) calculations.A family of stable tubelike structures with a Ga-As alternating arrangement were observed when n≥8 and their structural units (four-membered rings and six-membered rings) obey the general developing formula.The average binding energies of the clusters show that the tubelike cluster with eight atoms in the cross section is the most stable cluster.The sizedependent properties of the frontier molecular orbital surfaces explain why the long and stable tubelike clusters can be obtained successfully.They also illustrate the reason why GaAsNTs can be synthesized experimentally.We also found that the single-walled GaAsNTs can be prepared by the proper assembly of tubelike clusters to form semiconductors with large band gaps.     

Structural evolutions and electronic properties of Au_nGd(n=6–15) small clusters: A first principles study

Structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of Au_nGd(n = 6–15) small clusters are investigated by using first principles spin polarized calculations and combining with the ab-initio evolutionary structure simulations. The calculated binding energies indicate that after doping a Gd atom Aun Gd cluster is obviously more stable than a pure Au_(n+1) cluster.Au_6Gd with the quasiplanar structure has a largest magnetic moment of 7.421 μ_B. The Gd-4 f electrons play an important role in determining the high magnetic moments of Au_nGd clusters, but in Au_6Gd and Au_(12) Gd clusters the unignorable spin polarized effects from the Au-6 s and Au-5 d electrons further enhance their magnetism. The HOMO–LUMO(here, HOMO and LUMO stand for the highest occupied molecular orbital, and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital, respectively)energy gaps of Au_nGd clusters are smaller than those of pure Au_(n+1) clusters, indicating that Au_nGd clusters have potential as new catalysts with enhanced reactivity.     

The 13-atom encapsulated gold cage clusters

The structure and the magnetic moment of transition metal encapsulated in a Au 12 cage cluster have been studied by using the density functional theory.The results show that all of the transition metal atoms(TMA) can embed into the Au 12 cage and increase the stability of the clusters except Mn.Half of them have the I h or O h symmetry.The curves of binding energy have oscillation characteristics when the extra-nuclear electrons increase;the reason for this may be the interaction between parity changes of extra-nuclear electrons and Au atoms.The curves of highest occupied molecular orbital-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital(HOMO-LUMO) gap also have oscillation characteristics when the extra-nuclear electrons increase.The binding energies of many M@Au 12 clusters are much larger than that of the pure Au 13 cluster,while the gaps of some of them are less than that of Au 13,so maybe Cr@Au 12,Nb@Au 12,and W@Au 12 clusters are most stable in fact.For magnetic calculations,some clusters are quenched totally,but the Au 13 cluster has the largest magnetic moment of 5 μ B.When the number of extra-nuclear electrons of the encapsulated TMA is even,the magnetic moment of relevant M@Au 12 cluster is even,and so are the odd ones.     

Structural,electronic,and magnetic properties in FeAlAu_n(n=1–6)clusters:A first-principles study

The geometries,electronic and magnetic properties of the trimetallic clusters Fe Al Aun(n = 1–6) are systematically investigated using density functional theory(DFT).A number of new isomers are obtained to probe the structural evolutions.All doped clusters show larger relative binding energies than pure Aun+2partners,indicating that doping with Fe and Al atoms can stabilize the Aun clusters.The highest occupied molecular orbital–lowest unoccupied molecular orbital(HOMO–LUMO) gaps,vertical ionization potentials and vertical electron affinities are also studied and compared with those of pure gold clusters.Magnetism calculations demonstrate that the magnetic moments of Fe Al Aun clusters each show a pronounced odd–even oscillation with the number of Au atoms.     

Molecular dynamics simulation of an argon cluster filled inside carbon nanotubes

The effects of the diameters of single-walled carbon nanotubes （SWCNTs） （7.83A to 27.40A） and temperature （20 K-45 K） on the equilibrium structure of an argon cluster are systematically studied by molecular dynamics simulation with consideration of the SWCNTs to be fixed. Since the diameters of SWCNTs with different chiralities increase when temperature is fixed at 20 K, the equilibrium structures of the argon cluster transform from monoatomic chains to helical and then to multishell coaxial cylinders. Chirality has almost no noticeable influence on these cylindrosymmetric structures. The effects of temperature and a non-equilibrium sudden heating process on the structures of argon clusters in SWCNTs are also studied by molecular dynamics simulation.     

An ab initio study of niobium (n = 2--11) clusters: structure, stability and magnetism

The ground-state configurations of the Nbn (n = 2-11) clusters are studied through the first-principles calculations. It is found that niobium clusters (n = 2-11) tend to form compact structures with low symmetry. The clusters with 4, 8 and 10 atoms are found to be magic and have relatively large highest occupied-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO-LUMO) gaps. The Nbn clusters possess low magnetic moments, which exhibit an odd-even oscillational character. The analyses of calculated electronic density and population of the lowest-energy niobium clusters for n = 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 show that the total magnetic moments of Nbn originate mainly from a few Nb atoms with longer spacings between them in most cases, while they are located on two Nb atoms for n = 2, 3, 5. The total magnetic moments come mainly from the 4d local moments but with the exception of the Nb5 cluster.     

Interaction of intense laser pulses with hydrogen atomic clusters

The interaction between intense femtosecond laser pulses and hydrogen atomic clusters is studied by a simplified Coulomb explosion model. The dependences of average proton kinetic energy on cluster size, pulse duration, laser intensity and wavelength are studied respectively. The calculated results indicate that the irradiation of a femtosecond laser of longer wavelength on hydrogen atomic clusters may be a simple, economical way to produce highly kinetic hydrogen ions. The phenomenon suggests that the irradiation of femtosecond laser of longer wavelength on deuterium atomic clusters may be easier than that of shorter wavelength to drive nuclear fusion reactions. The product of the laser intensity and the squared laser wavelength needed to make proton energy saturated as a function of the squared cluster radius is also investigated. The proton energy distribution calculated is also shown and compared with the experimental data. Our results are in agreement with the experimental results fairly well.     

Ab Initio Calculations for the Polarizabilities of Small Sulfur Clusters

Polarizabilities of small Sn （n = 2-8） clusters are calculated by using the higher-order finite-difference pseudopotential density functional method in real space. We find that the polarizabilities of the clusters are considered to be higher than the value estimated from the “hard sphere” model using the bulk static dielectric constant. The computed polarizabilities per atom tend to decrease with the increasing cluster size. The polarizabilities are closely related to the HOMO-LUMO gaps and the geometrical configurations.     

Ab initio calculations for the absorption spectra and polarizabilities of small sulfur clusters

Absorption spectra for Sn clusters （n=2...8） are calculated using an adiabatic time-dependent density functional formalism within the local density approximation （LDA）. We compare the calculated spectra with those computed using a simple LDA approach. The time-dependent LDA （TDLDA） spectra display a significant blue shift with respect to the LDA spectra. The calculated spectra present a variety of features that can be used for comparison with future experimental investigations. We also obtain a significant threshold absorption, which can distinguish between different ground states of the sulfur clusters. In addition, the polarizabilities of the clusters are calculated by using the higherorder finite-difference pseudopotential density functional method in real space. We find that the polarizabilities of the clusters considered are higher than the value estimated from the ＇hard sphere＇ model using the bulk static dielectric constant. The computed polarizabilities per atom tend to decrease with increasing cluster size. The polarizabilities are closely related to the HOMO-LUMO gaps and the geometrical configurations.     

High stability of the goldalloy fullerenes：A density functional theory investigation of M_（12）@Au_（20）（M=Na,Al,Ag,Sc,Y,La,Lu,and Au） clusters

Discovering highly stable metal fullerenes such as the celebrated C 60 is interesting in cluster science as they have potential applications as building blocks in new nanostructures.We here investigated the structural and electronic properties of the fullerenes M 12 @Au 20（M=Na,Al,Ag,Sc,Y,La,Lu,and Au）,using a first-principles investigation with the density functional theory.It is found that these compound clusters possess a similar cage structure to the icosahedral Au 32 fullerene.La 12 @Au 20 is found to be particularly stable among these clusters.The binding energy of La 12 @Au 20 is 3.43 eV per atom,1.05 eV larger than that in Au 32.The highest occupied molecular orbital-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital（HOMO-LUMO） gap of La 12 @Au 20 is only 0.31 eV,suggesting that it should be relatively chemically reactive.