Structures and electronic properties of Al7x0,- and Al13 X1,2,12- clusters with X=F, Cl, and Br

The structures, binding energies, and electronic properties for Al7X, Al7X-, Al13X-, Al13X2-, and Al13X12- (X = F, Cl, Br) were studied at the B3LYP/6-311+G(2d,p) level. Among the systems studied, Al7 and Al13 clusters in Al7X and Al13X- reveal alkali-like and halogen-like superatom characters, respectively. Al7 can bind with one halogen atom to form a salt-like compound as Al7+delta-X-delta. Al13- can combine with one halogen atom to form a diatomic halogen anion Al13X-. However, when adding more halogens, the superatom structure would be destroyed, resulting in low-symmetry compounds with the center Al atom moving toward the cluster surface. The structures of Al13X1,2,12- (X = F, Cl, Br) are similar to those of X = I; however, their binding energies and electron structures are much different. In addition, the analyses of the calculated NBO charges show that Cl and Br have similar properties, but much different from F, when interacting with the Al clusters. The Al-Cl and Al-Br bonds have more covalent character in Al7X and Al13X2,12-, in contrast to the corresponding Al-F bond, which has prominent ionic character.