Subscribe to the gold package and get unlimited access to Shamra Academy
Register a new userThe valence and spectral properties of rare-earth clusters
138
0
0.0
(
0
)
Ask ChatGPT about the research
No Arabic abstract
The rare-earths are known to have intriguing changes of the valence, depending on chemical surrounding or geometry. Here we make predictions from theory that combines density functional theory with atomic multiplet-theory, on the transition of valence when transferring from the atomic divalent limit to the trivalent bulk, passing through different sized clusters, of selected rare-earths. We predict that Tm clusters show an abrupt change from pure divalent to pure trivalent at a size of 6 atoms, while Sm and Tb clusters are respectively pure divalent and trivalent up to 8 atoms. Larger Sm clusters are argued to likely make a transition to a mixed valent, or trivalent, configuration. The valence of all rare-earth clusters, as a function of size, is predicted from interpolation of our calculated results. We argue that the here predicted behavior is best analyzed by spectroscopic measurements, and provide theoretical spectra, based on dynamical mean field theory, in the Hubbard-I approximation, to ease experimental analysis.
rate research
Read More
The interaction between PTCDA (3,4,9,10-perylene-tetracarboxylic-dianhydride) and rare gas or para-hydrogen samples is studied by means of laser-induced fluorescence excitation spectroscopy. The comparison between spectra of PTCDA embedded in a neon matrix and spectra attached to large neon clusters shows that these large organic molecules reside on the surface of the clusters when doped by the pick-up technique. PTCDA molecules can adopt different conformations when attached to argon, neon and para-hydrogen clusters which implies that the surface of such clusters has a well-defined structure and has not liquid or fluxional properties. Moreover, a precise analysis of the doping process of these clusters reveals that the mobility of large molecules on the cluster surface is quenched, preventing agglomeration and complex formation.
The interaction between PTCDA (3,4,9,10-perylene-tetracarboxylic-dianhydride) molecules and solid rare gas samples is studied by means of fluorescence emission spectroscopy. On the one hand, laser-excited PTCDA-doped large argon, neon and para-hydrogen clusters in comparison with PTCDA embedded in helium nanodroplets are spectroscopically characterized with respect to line broadening and shifting. A fast non-radiative relaxation is observed before a radiative decay in the electronic ground state takes place. On the other hand, fluorescence emission studies of PTCDA embedded in bulk neon and argon matrices results in much more complex spectral signatures characterized by a splitting of the different emission lines. These can be assigned to the appearance of site isomers of the surrounding matrix lattice structure.
The surface composition of charged Lennard-Jones clusters A$_N^{n+}$, composed of N particles (55 leq N leq 1169) among which n are positively charged with charge q, thus having a net total charge Q = nq, is investigated by Monte Carlo with Parallel Tempering simulations. At finite temperature, the surface sites of these charged clusters are found to be preferentially occupied by charged particles carrying large charges, due to Coulombic repulsions, but the full occupancy of surface sites is rarely achieved for clusters below the stability limit defined in this work. Large clusters (N = 1169) follow the same trends, with a smaller propensity for positive particles to occupy the cluster surface at non-zero temperature. We show that these charged clusters rather behave as electrical spherical conductors for the smaller sizes (N leq 147) but as spheres uniformly charged in their volume for the larger sizes (N = 1169).
There has long been a discrepancy between the size distributions of Ar$_n^+$ clusters measured by different groups regarding whether or not magic numbers appear at sizes corresponding to the closure of icosahedral (sub-)shells. We show that the previously observed magic cluster size distributions are likely the result of an unresolved Ar$_n$H$^+$ component, that is, from protonated argon clusters. We find that the proton impurity gives cluster geometries that are much closer to those for neutral rare gas clusters, which are known to form icosahedral structures, than the pure cationic clusters, explaining why the mass spectra from protonated argon clusters better matches these structural models. Our results thus show that even small impurities, e.g. a single proton, can significantly influence the properties of clusters.
We propose a method for quantifying charge-driven instabilities in clusters, based on equilibrium simulations under confinement at constant external pressure. This approach makes no assumptions about the mode of decay and allows different clusters to be compared on an equal footing. A comprehensive survey of stability in model clusters of 309 Lennard-Jones particles augmented with Coulomb interactions is presented. We proceed to examine dynamic signatures of instability, finding that rate constants for ejection of charged particles increase smoothly as a function of total charge with no sudden changes. For clusters where many particles carry charge, ejection of individual charges competes with a fission process that leads to more symmetric division of the cluster into large fragments. The rate constants for fission depend much more sensitively on total charge than those for ejection of individual particles.
Log in to be able to interact and post comments
comments
Fetching comments
Sign in to be able to follow your search criteria
