Metal Transition in Sodium–Ammonia Nanodroplets |
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Authors: | M. Sc. Sebastian Hartweg Dr. Adam H. C. West Dr. Bruce L. Yoder Prof. Dr. Ruth Signorell |
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Affiliation: | Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland |
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Abstract: | The famous nonmetal‐to‐metal transition in Na–ammonia solutions is investigated in nanoscale solution droplets by photoelectron spectroscopy. In agreement with the bulk solutions, a strong indication for a transition to the metallic state is found at an average metal concentration of 8.8±2.2 mole%. The smallest entity for the phase transition to be observed consists of approximately 100–200 solvent molecules. The quantification of this critical entity size is a stepping stone toward a deeper understanding of these quantum–classical solutions through direct modeling at the molecular level. |
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Keywords: | electron binding energy electronic structure metal– ammonia solutions photoelectron anisotropy solvated electrons |
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