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Updated: May 1, 2026

Synthesis of Nine-atom Deltahedral Zintl Ions of Germanium and their Functionalization with Organic Groups
Published on: February 11, 2012
The viability of aluminum Zintl anion moieties within magnesium-aluminum clusters
Haopeng Wang1, Yeon Jae Ko1, Xinxing Zhang1
1Department of Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA.
Abstract:
Through a synergetic combination of anion photoelectron spectroscopy and density functional theory based calculations, we have investigated the extent to which the aluminum moieties within selected magnesium-aluminum clusters are Zintl anions. Magnesium-aluminum cluster anions were generated in a pulsed arc discharge source. After mass selection, photoelectron spectra of MgmAln (-) (m, n = 1,6; 2,5; 2,12; and 3,11) were measured by a magnetic bottle, electron energy analyzer. Calculations on these four stoichiometries provided geometric structures and full charge analyses for the cluster anions and their neutral cluster counterparts, as well as photodetachment transition energies (stick spectra). Calculations revealed that, unlike the cases of recently reported sodium-aluminum clusters, the formation of aluminum Zintl anion moieties within magnesium-aluminum clusters was limited in most cases by weak charge transfer between the magnesium atoms and their aluminum cluster moieties. Only in cases of high magnesium content, e.g., in Mg3Al11 and Mg2Al12 (-), did the aluminum moieties exhibit Zintl anion-like characteristics.
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