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Updated: Jan 23, 2026

Determination of the Gas-phase Acidities of Oligopeptides
Published on: June 24, 2013
Stable Tetra- and Penta-Anions in the Gas Phase
1Department of Physics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, 23284, USA.
Abstract:
The quest for stable gas-phase anions in highly negative charge states has been a great challenge. While multiply charged anions are stabilized in solids and liquids by compensating cations and solvation cells, respectively, stable anions containing less than a hundred atoms in the gas phase and capable of carrying charge beyond -3 is unknown. Here, we report the discovery of thermodynamically stable tetra- and penta-anions, containing less than 50 and 80 atoms, respectively, in the gas phase. A universal model is developed that explains their stability in terms of the synergy between closed shell, high electron affinity, and size and predicts new highly-charged anions by using the known charged clusters as building blocks. Synthesis of these species can open a new chapter in materials chemistry.
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