Advertisement

If you have an ACS member number, please enter it here so we can link this account to your membership. (optional)

ACS values your privacy. By submitting your information, you are gaining access to C&EN and subscribing to our weekly newsletter. We use the information you provide to make your reading experience better, and we will never sell your data to third party members.

ENJOY UNLIMITED ACCES TO C&EN

Physical Chemistry

Sighting the golden cage

May 22, 2006 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 84, Issue 21

Clusters of 16, 17, or 18 gold atoms produced by laser vaporization of gold form hollow cage structures akin to fullerene molecules, new theoretical and experimental studies suggest (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, published online, dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0600637103). These anionic clusters are the first experimentally identified hollow cage structures made entirely of metal atoms, according to Lai-Sheng Wang of Washington State University, Richland, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Xiao Cheng Zeng of the University of Nebraska, who jointly led the effort to identify the structures. Gold anion clusters of 13 atoms or fewer tend to be planar, while clusters of 20 atoms take on a pyramidal structure. Wang and Zeng's group therefore speculated that gold clusters with 14 to 19 atoms would be the most likely to assume a hollow cage structure. Using photoelectron spectroscopy and theoretical calculations, they found that all but one of the lowest energy isomers of Au16- (shown), Au17-, and Au18- are hollow cages with an empty interior roughly 6 Å across.

Article:

This article has been sent to the following recipient:

0 /1 FREE ARTICLES LEFT THIS MONTH Remaining
Chemistry matters. Join us to get the news you need.