Density Functional Theory Studies of the Electronic Structure and Muon Hyperfine Interaction in [Au25(SR)18]0and [Au25(SeR)18]0Nanoclusters

• Published in: ACS Omega
• Main Author: Ahmad S.N.; Zaharim W.N.; Sulaiman S.; Hasan Baseri D.F.; Mohd Rosli N.A.; Ang L.S.; Yahaya N.Z.; Watanabe I.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Chemical Society 2020
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85098974428&doi=10.1021%2facsomega.0c04937&partnerID=40&md5=74058c4088e59e9ba00db6d3b63cac3c

Density functional theory computational investigation was performed to study the electronic structures, muon sites, and the associated hyperfine interactions in [Au25(SR)18]0 and [Au25(SeR)18]0 where R is phenylethane. The calculated electronic structures show inhomogeneous spin density distribution and are also affected by different ligands. The two most stable muon sites near Au atoms in the thiolated system are MAu11 and MAu6. When the thiolate ligands were replaced by selenolate ligands, the lowest energy positions of muons moved to MAu6 and MAu5. Muons prefer to stop inside the Au12 icosahedral shell, away from the central Au and the staple motifs region. Muonium states at phenyl ring and S/Se atoms in the ligand were found to be stable and the Fermi contact fields are much larger as compared to the field experienced by muons near Au atoms. © 2020 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.