Quantifying plasmonic characteristics of pure and alkali doped aluminium clusters

Study of plasmonic response of molecules and metal nanoclusters have drawn a considerable attention during recent times due to their various practical applications. In this study, the optical properties and the plasmonic response of our recently reported Al₁₃⁺ cluster [Guin et al. Journal of Molecular Graphics and Modelling, 2020, 97, 107544] and its alkali doped counterparts [Guin et al. Journal of Molecular Modeling, 2021, 27, 235] have been investigated based on Transition dipole moment (TDM), Natural Transition Orbital (NTO) and transition inverse participation ratio (TIPR) indices. Recently these indices have been utilized by various scientists to characterize plasmonic transitions of molecular systems and metal nanoclusters. In TDM analysis, the magnitude of all the contributing TDMs associated with the molecular orbital transitions have been estimated along with the angles the individual dipoles make with the resultant dipole moment vector. A transition having at least two dominating TDM contributions along with phase matching indicate a collective or plasmonic transition. The collectiveness of orbital transitions is also corroborated through NTO and TIPR analysis. The effect of solvent medium on the optical properties and plasmonic transitions have also been studied using time dependent density functional theory in the conductor like polarizable continuum model (TDDFT-CPCM). The solvent has a strong impact on the optical properties as well as the plasmonic response of the clusters. The dielectric environment of the solvent red shifts and broadens the spectra with respect to that in the gas phase. Plasmon like excitations have been found for Li doped Al₁₃⁺ cluster without solvent and Na doped Al₁₃⁺ cluster in ethanol and THF.