Abstract
We report the first experimental observation of negatively charged hydrogen and deuterium cluster ions, and , where . These anions are formed by an electron addition to liquid helium nanodroplets doped with molecular hydrogen or deuterium. The ions are stable for at least the lifetime of the experiment, which is several tens of microseconds. Only anions with odd values of are detected, and some specific ions show anomalously high abundances. The sizes of these “magic number” ions suggest an icosahedral framework of () molecules in solvent shells around a central () ion. The first three shells, which contain a total of 44 or molecules, appear to be solidlike, but thereafter a more liquidlike arrangement of the () molecules is adopted.
- Received 5 September 2016
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.273001
© 2016 American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Synopsis
Hydrogen Clusters Go Negative
Published 27 December 2016
Negatively charged hydrogen ion clusters—consisting of five or more hydrogen atoms—have been observed for the first time.
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