Chemically reversible isomerization of inorganic clusters

Citation:

Williamson, C. B. ; Nevers, D. R. ; Nelson, A. ; Hadar, I. ; Banin, U. ; Hanrath, T. ; Robinson, R. D. . Chemically Reversible Isomerization Of Inorganic Clusters. SCIENCE 2019, 363, 731-735.

Date Published:

FEB 15

Abstract:

Structural transformations in molecules and solids have generally been studied in isolation, whereas intermediate systems have eluded characterization. We show that a pair of cadmium sulfide (CdS) cluster isomers provides an advantageous experimental platform to study isomerization in well-defined, atomically precise systems. The clusters coherently interconvert over an ~1–electron volt energy barrier with a 140–milli–electron volt shift in their excitonic energy gaps. There is a diffusionless, displacive reconfiguration of the inorganic core (solid-solid transformation) with first order (isomerization-like) transformation kinetics. Driven by a distortion of the ligand-binding motifs, the presence of hydroxyl species changes the surface energy via physisorption, which determines “phase” stability in this system. This reaction possesses essential characteristics of both solid-solid transformations and molecular isomerizations and bridges these disparate length scales.


Publisher's Version

Last updated on 12/02/2021