Cage-Like Nanoclusters of ZnO Probed by Time-Resolved Photoelectron Spectroscopy and Theory

Zinc oxide nanoclusters have been predicted as promising building blocks for cluster-assembled materials with unprecedented properties. Here, for the first time these clusters are probed by time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy and characterized in detail by density functional theory. Their validity as building blocks for cluster-assembled materials is confirmed via rigid cage-like structures facilitating three-dimensional aggregation in combination with large band gaps that are nevertheless significantly lower than any known ZnO polymorph. In addition, electron-hole pair localization in the excited state of the cluster anions combined with their structural rigidity leads to extraordinary long-lived states above the band gap virtually independent of the cluster size, defying the rule "every atom counts".