Greatly Enhanced Electron Affinities of Au 2 n Cl Clusters ( n = 1-4): Effects of Chlorine Doping.

Au _{2 n} Cl ^- ( n = 1-4) clusters are investigated by both laser ablation mass spectrometry and theoretical calculations. It is interesting to find that the electron affinities of neutral Au _{2 n} Cl ( n = 1-4) clusters are much larger than those of corresponding pure Au _{2 n} clusters. Among them, the electron affinity of Au ₂ Cl is 4.02 eV, which can be defined as a very unique superhalogen that is quite different from classical ones of M _n X _m (M = metal, X = halogen, and n < m ). Natural bond orbital and highest occupied molecular orbital analyses indicate that the extra electron is predominantly delocalized over the positively charged metal moiety in these anionic Au _{2 n} Cl ^- clusters, which is the main reason for the large electron affinities of the corresponding neutral species.
Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest.
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