The ground state geometries of neutral and anionic lanthanide-metal-doped silicon clusters Si7M0/− with M = Pr, Gd and Ho were determined by quantum chemical (DFT) computations and the previous experimental photoelectron spectra were assigned.
Superatom YSi20−, with an ideal thermodynamic stability and chemical reactivity, is the most suitable building block for novel optical, optoelectronic photosensitive or catalytic nanomaterials.
Density functional calculations and mass spectrometry reveal the role of a shielding effect from s-character electrons in the complexation between rare gas (Ar, Xe) and SinMn+ (n = 6–10), Si7TM+ (TM = Cr, Mn, Cu and Zn).