Nano structures of group 13-15 mixed heptamer clusters: a computational study

The structural and thermodynamic characteristics of lowest-energy structures of group 13-15 mixed heptamers in two distinct series [(HM)(k)(HM')(l)(NH)(7)] (M, M' = B, Al, Ga and k + l = 7) and [(HGa)(7)(YH)(m)(Y'H)(n)] (Y,Y' = N, P, As and m + n = 7) have been systematically investigated using the density functional approach. Our main goal is to get knowledge of the preferential bonding patterns of the first three rows of group 13-15 elements for the construction of mixed heptameric clusters. Structural parameters, thermodynamic properties of oligomerization reaction, band gaps, and dipole moments of the 18 lowest-energy structures of the studied heptamers in each series are compared to their corresponding binary parents, that is, [(HM)(7)(NH)(7)] and [(HGa)(7)(YH)(7)]. The stability of different isomer structures is discussed to reveal the competitiveness of group 13 and 15 bonding. Mixed heptamers are predicted to be thermodynamically more stable compared to a mixture of monomers. However, the favorability for the generation of mixed heptamers strongly depends on the nature of inserted metal and nonmetal pairs of group 13-15. Moreover, it is found that among all studied heptamers the smaller band gaps correspond to arsenic containing species which are close to the semiconducting regime, around 4.62-4.98 eV.