Department of Physics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia 23284, USA.
Nat Chem. 2009 Jul;1(4):310-5. doi: 10.1038/nchem.249. Epub 2009 Jun 14.
The quantum states in metal clusters are grouped into bunches of close-lying eigenvalues, termed electronic shells, similar to those of atoms. Filling of the electronic shells with paired electrons results in local minima in energy to give stable species called magic clusters. This led to the realization that selected clusters mimic chemical properties of elemental atoms on the periodic table and can be classified as superatoms. So far the work on superatoms has focused on non-magnetic species. Here we propose a framework for magnetic superatoms by invoking systems that have both localized and delocalized electronic states, in which localized electrons stabilize magnetic moments and filled nearly-free electron shells lead to stable species. An isolated VCs(8) and a ligated MnAu(24)(SH)(18) are shown to be such magnetic superatoms. The magnetic superatoms' assemblies could be ideal for molecular electronic devices, as the coupling could be altered by charging or weak fields.
金属团簇中的量子态被分为一簇簇接近的本征值，称为电子壳层，类似于原子的电子壳层。电子壳层中配对电子的填充导致能量的局部极小值，从而产生稳定的物质，称为魔术团簇。这导致人们认识到，选定的团簇模拟了元素原子在元素周期表中的化学性质，可以被归类为超原子。到目前为止，超原子的研究主要集中在非磁性物质上。在这里，我们通过引入具有局域和离域电子态的系统来提出磁超原子的框架，其中局域电子稳定磁矩，填充的近自由电子壳层导致稳定的物质。孤立的 VC（8）和配位的 MnAu（24）（SH）（18）被证明是这种磁超原子。磁超原子的组装可以成为分子电子器件的理想选择，因为通过充电或弱磁场可以改变耦合。
