The static electric dipole polarizabilities of rhodium clusters Rh_n,n=5-28, have been measured via a molecular beam deflection method.Uniform high-field beam deflections, indicative of induced polarization, were observed for all Rh_n except Rh7 and Rh10 which by contrast exhibited beam broadening and anomalously high effective polarizabilities.Analysis of the beam deflection profile of Rh7 indicates that it possesses a permanent dipole moment of 0.24+0.02 D.Unlike the other clusters in the n=5 -28 size range, the polarizability of Rh10 is observed to decrease with increasing source temperature.We attribute this temperature dependence to paraelectric behavior, suggesting that Rh10 is a fluxional molecule possessing a dipole moment that spatially fluctuates, uncorrelated with overall rotation.
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