Relaxation dynamics of the mass-selected hydrated Auride ion (Au−)

Abstract

By using time resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, decay of optically excited states of hydrated Au mass selected in the gas phase was studied. It is suggested that the pump photon can induce injection of an electron from auride chromophore to the water solvent. The cluster with three water molecules (Au (H 2 O) 3) showed a long living excited state with a lifetime of $19 ± 3 ps, whereas that of Au (H 2 O) 2 is only $3 ± 1 ps. The fate of an optically excited state of an ionic species can be significantly changed by the number of water (solvent) molecules attached.

Cage-Like Nanoclusters of ZnO Probed by Time-Resolved Photoelectron Spectroscopy and Theory

“…Such an extraordinary long lifetime was not found in other Au n – clusters . Long excited-state lifetimes are usually associated with special cluster geometries as found for Au n – , Hg n – , or Pb n – but can also be influenced by the degree of solvation , or oxidation . Studies of mixed clusters like Cd x Te y or V x C y also disclosed size-dependent trends in the pump–probe transients; however, general indicators that always apply have not been identified.…”

A Digallane Gold Complex with a 12-Electron Auride Center: Synthesis and Computational Studies

“…On a different front, 12-e – gold has also been studied as auride (Au – ). Although the long history of studies − on inorganic metal auride by alkaline metal reduction in liquid ammonia has provided evidence for the stability of the monatomic Au – in the chemical environment, − the investigations of its chemical behaviors toward organic substrates have mostly been confined to computational − and modern physical techniques such as photoelectron spectroscopy − and mass spectrometry. , Stabilization of molecular, mononuclear, low-valent gold complexes in solutions had long been a synthetic challenge due to their proneness to forming clusters. In 2013, Bertrand successfully isolated the first mono- and dinuclear zerovalent gold complexes using his effective π-accepting cyclic­(alkyl)­(amino)­carbene (CAAC) ligand (Chart A) .…”