Geometrical, electronic, and magnetic properties of small AunSc (n=1-8) clusters

Geometrical, electronic, and magnetic properties of the Sc-doped gold clusters, Au_nSc (n=1-8), have been studied using the density-functional theory within the generalized gradient approximation. An extensive structural search shows that the Sc atom in low-energy Au_nSc isomers tends to occupy the most highly coordinated position. The substitution of a Sc atom for an Au atom in the Au_n+1 cluster markedly changes the structure of the host cluster. Moreover, we confirm that the ground-state Au₆Sc cluster has a distortion to a lower D_2h symmetry. The relative stabilities and electronic properties of the lowest-energy Au_nSc clusters are analyzed based on the averaged binding energies, second-order energy differences, fragmentation energies, chemical hardnesses, and HOMO-LUMO gaps. It is found that the magic Au₃Sc cluster can be perceived as a superatom with high chemical stability and its HOMO-LUMO gap is larger than that of the closed-shell Zr@Au₁₄ cluster. The high symmetry and spin multiplicity of the Au₃Sc and Au₆Sc clusters are responsible for their large vertical ionization potential and electron affinity. The magnetism calculations indicate that the magnetic moment of the Sc atom in the ground-state Au_nSc (n=2-8) clusters gradually decreases for even n and is completely quenched for odd n.