skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Attention:

The DOI auto-population feature in the Public Access Repository (PAR) will be unavailable from 4:00 PM ET on Tuesday, July 8 until 4:00 PM ET on Wednesday, July 9 due to scheduled maintenance. We apologize for the inconvenience caused.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


Title: Probing copper-boron interactions in the Cu 2 B 8 − bimetallic cluster
Borophenes are atom-thin boron layers that can be grown on coinage metal substrates and have become an important class of synthetic 2D nanomaterials. The interactions between boron and substrates are critical to understand the growth mechanisms of borophenes. Here, we report an investigation of copper-boron interactions in the Cu 2 B 8 − bimetallic cluster using photoelectron spectroscopy and quantum chemical calculations. Well-resolved photoelectron spectra are obtained at several photon energies and are combined with theoretical calculations to elucidate the structures and bonding of Cu 2 B 8 − . Global minimum searches reveal that Cu 2 B 8 − consists of a Cu 2 dimer atop a B 8 molecular wheel with a long Cu–Cu bond length close to that in Cu 2 + . Chemical bonding analyses indicate that there is clear charge transfer from Cu 2 to B 8 , and the Cu 2 B 8 − cluster can be viewed as a [Cu 2 + ]-borozene complex, [Cu 2 + ][B 8 2– ]. In the neutral cluster, no Cu–Cu bond exists and Cu 2 B 8 consists of two Cu + centers interacting with doubly aromatic B 8 2− borozene. The charge transfer interactions between Cu and boron in the Cu 2 B 8 − cluster are analogous to charge transfer from the copper substrate to the first borophene layer recently reported to be critical in the growth of bilayer borophenes on a Cu(111) substrate.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2053541
PAR ID:
10402313
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A
Volume:
40
Issue:
4
ISSN:
0734-2101
Page Range / eLocation ID:
042201
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; ; ; ; ; (, Angewandte Chemie International Edition)
    Abstract In a high‐resolution photoelectron imaging and theoretical study of the IrB3−cluster, two isomers were observed experimentally with electron affinities (EAs) of 1.3147(8) and 1.937(4) eV. Quantum calculations revealed two nearly degenerate isomers competing for the global minimum, both with a B3ring coordinated with the Ir atom. The isomer with the higher EA consists of a B3ring with a bridge‐bonded Ir atom (Cs,2A′), and the second isomer features a tetrahedral structure (C3v,2A1). The neutral tetrahedral structure was predicted to be considerably more stable than all other isomers. Chemical bonding analysis showed that the neutralC3visomer involves significant covalent Ir−B bonding and weak ionic bonding with charge transfer from B3to Ir, and can be viewed as an Ir–(η3‐B3+) complex. This study provides the first example of a boron‐to‐metal charge‐transfer complex and evidence of a π‐aromatic B3+ring coordinated to a transition metal. 
    more » « less
  2. ; ; ; ; (, Angewandte Chemie International Edition)
    Abstract Multiple bonds between boron and transition metals are known in many borylene (:BR) complexes via metal dπ→BR back‐donation, despite the electron deficiency of boron. An electron‐precise metal–boron triple bond was first observed in BiB2O−[Bi≡B−B≡O]−in which both boron atoms can be viewed as sp‐hybridized and the [B−BO]−fragment is isoelectronic to a carbyne (CR). To search for the first electron‐precise transition‐metal‐boron triple‐bond species, we have produced IrB2O−and ReB2O−and investigated them by photoelectron spectroscopy and quantum‐chemical calculations. The results allow to elucidate the structures and bonding in the two clusters. We find IrB2O−has a closed‐shell bent structure (Cs,1A′) with BO−coordinated to an Ir≡B unit, (−OB)Ir≡B, whereas ReB2O−is linear (C∞v,3Σ−) with an electron‐precise Re≡B triple bond, [Re≡B−B≡O]−. The results suggest the intriguing possibility of synthesizing compounds with electron‐precise M≡B triple bonds analogous to classical carbyne systems. 
    more » « less
  3. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (, Nanoscale)
    null (Ed.)
    Size-selected negatively-charged boron clusters (B n − ) have been found to be planar or quasi-planar in a wide size range. Even though cage structures emerged as the global minimum at B 39 − , the global minimum of B 40 − was in fact planar. Only in the neutral form did the B 40 borospherene become the global minimum. How the structures of larger boron clusters evolve is of immense interest. Here we report the observation of a bilayer B 48 − cluster using photoelectron spectroscopy and first-principles calculations. The photoelectron spectra of B 48 − exhibit two well-resolved features at low binding energies, which are used as electronic signatures to compare with theoretical calculations. Global minimum searches and theoretical calculations indicate that both the B 48 − anion and the B 48 neutral possess a bilayer-type structure with D 2h symmetry. The simulated spectrum of the D 2h B 48 − agrees well with the experimental spectral features, confirming the bilayer global minimum structure. The bilayer B 48 −/0 clusters are found to be highly stable with strong interlayer covalent bonding, revealing a new structural type for size-selected boron clusters. The current study shows the structural diversity of boron nanoclusters and provides experimental evidence for the viability of bilayer borophenes. 
    more » « less
  4. ; ; ; ; ; (, Chemical Communications)
    Photoelectron spectroscopy and quantum chemistry studies are used to investigate the structure and bonding of AuB 8 − . Global minimum sturctural searches show that AuB 8 − possesses a chair-like structure, which can be viewed as Au + bonded to the edge of the doubly-aromatic B 8 2− borozene, Au + [η 2 -B 8 2− ]. Chemical bonding analyses reveal that the AuB 8 − is a novel borozene complex with unique Au–borozene bonding. 
    more » « less
  5. ; ; ; ; (, Chemical communications)
    We report the observation of the first inverse triple-decker complex in a tri-lanthanide-doped boron cluster. Photoelectron spectroscopy of La3B14– reveals well-resolved photodetachment transitions. Quantum chemical studies show that the most stable structure of the La3B14– cluster exhibits a tilted La–B8–La–B8–La inverse triple-decker structure with two conjoined B8 rings sharing a pair of B atoms due to strong inter-layer B–B bonding. The tilted structure enhances both B–B and B–La bonding, resulting in a highly stable inverse triple-decker structure. Theoretical calculations further show that multi-decker conjoined structures are viable as a new class of 1D lanthanide boron nanostructures. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email