Al_4H_7~- is a resilient building block for aluminum hydrogen cluster materials

摘要

The formation and oxygen etching of Al_nH_m~- clusters are characterized in a flow reactor experiment with first-principles theoretical investigations to demonstrate the exceptional stability of Al_4H_7~-. The origin of the preponderance of Al_4H_7~- in the mass spectra of hydrogenated aluminum anions and its resistance to O_2 etching are discussed. Al_4H_7~- is shown to have the ability to bond with ionic partners to form stable hydrides through addition of an alkali atom [XAl_44H_7 (X = Li-Cs)]. An intuitive model that can predict the existence of stable hydrogenated cluster species is proposed. The potential synthetic utility of the superatom assemblies built on these units is addressed.