All-Electron Scalar Relativistic Calculations on the Adsorption of Small Gold Clusters Toward Methanol Molecule

Under the framework of DFT, an all-electron scalar relativistic calculation on the adsorption of Aun (n = 1-13) clusters toward methanol molecule has been performed with the generalized gradient approximation at PW91 level. Our calculation results reveal that the small gold cluster would like to bond with oxygen of methanol molecule at the edge of gold cluster plane. After adsorption, the chemical activities of hydroxyl group and methyl group are enhanced to some extent. The even-numbered AunCH3OH cluster with closed-shell electronic configuration is relatively more stable than the neighboring odd-numbered AunCH3OH cluster with open-shell electronic configuration. All the AunCH3OH clusters prefer low spin multiplicity (M = 1 for even-numbered AuNCH3OH clusters, M = 2 for odd-numbered AunCH3OH clusters) and the magnetic moments are mainly contributed by gold atoms. The odd-even alterations of magnetic moments and electronic configurations can be observed clearly and may be simply understood in terms of the electron pairing effect.