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Colossal Stability of Gas‐Phase Trianions: Super‐Pnictogens
Author(s) -
Zhao Tianshan,
Zhou Jian,
Wang Qian,
Jena Puru
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201706764
Subject(s) - ion , fragmentation (computing) , chemical physics , electron , gas phase , electrostatics , charge (physics) , molecule , chemistry , materials science , phase (matter) , physics , organic chemistry , nuclear physics , quantum mechanics , computer science , operating system
Abstract Multiply charged negative ions are ubiquitous in nature. They are stable as crystals because of charge compensating cations; while in solutions, solvent molecules protect them. However, they are rarely stable in the gas phase because of strong electrostatic repulsion between the extra electrons. Therefore, understanding their stability without the influence of the environment has been of great interest to scientists for decades. While much of the past work has focused on dianions, work on triply charged negative ions is sparse and the search for the smallest trianion that is stable against spontaneous electron emission or fragmentation continues. Stability of BeB 11 (X) 12 3− (X=CN, SCN, BO) trianions is demonstrated in the gas phase, with BeB 11 (CN) 12 3− exhibiting colossal stability against electron emission by 2.65 eV and against its neutral adduct by 15.85 eV. The unusual stability of these trianions opens the door to a new class of super‐pnictogens with potential applications in aluminum‐ion batteries.