1. Metal Cluster Electrides: A New Type of Molecular Electride with Delocalised Polyattractor Character
- Author
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El Bakouri, O, Postils, V, Garcia-Borras, M, Duran, M, Luis, JM, Calvello, S, Soncini, A, Matito, E, Feixas, F, Sola, M, El Bakouri, O, Postils, V, Garcia-Borras, M, Duran, M, Luis, JM, Calvello, S, Soncini, A, Matito, E, Feixas, F, and Sola, M
- Abstract
Electrides are ionic substances containing isolated electrons. These confined electrons are topologically characterised by a quasi-atom, that is, a non-nuclear attractor (NNA) of the electron density. The electronic structure of the octahedral 4 A1g Li6+ and 5 A1g Be6 species shows that these species have a large number of NNAs. These NNAs have highly delocalised electron densities and, as a result, the chemical bonding pattern of these systems is reminiscent of that in solid metals, in which metal cations are surrounded by a "sea" of delocalised valence electrons. We propose the term metal cluster electrides to refer to this new class of compounds. In this study, we establish a computational protocol to identify, characterize, and design metal cluster electrides and we elucidate the intricate bonding patterns of this particular type of species.
- Published
- 2018