Investigation of Boron and Boride Nanoclusters: Laying the Foundation for New Boron Nanostructures

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Through this award, funded by the Chemical Structure, Dynamics, and Mechanisms - A Program of the Division of Chemistry, Prof. Lai-Sheng Wang from Brown University of Providence, will carry out fundamental investigations of the structures and bonding of boron clusters and metal boride clusters as a function of size and composition. The objective of this project is to build the foundation and knowledge base to understand the stability and viability of boron-based nanostructures, as well as discovering new forms of boron nanostructures. Three types of boron-related nanoclusters will be investigated: 1) boron clusters containing between 20 to 100 atoms, 2) metal boride clusters, and 3) hydrogenated boron clusters. These clusters will be produced using a laser vaporization supersonic cluster source and characterized by photoelectron spectroscopy. The spectroscopic information will be combined with computational studies to elucidate the structures, stability, and chemical bonding of the boron-based clusters. Clusters are aggregate of atoms and their structures and properties change with the number of atoms, forming the foundation of nanoscience. The understanding of how the structures and properties of boron clusters change as a function of size will provide information about the viability of boron-based nanomaterials. Metal borides constitute an important class of superhard materials. Fundamental knowledge about how metal atoms bond with boron atoms in metal boride clusters will be valuable in the design of new superhard boride materials. Hydrogenated boron clusters provide opportunities to investigate chemical interactions of hydrogen with boron nanostructures, as well as providing a platform to discover new forms of boron-nanostructures. Through the proposed research, students and postdoctoral fellows will acquire specialized training in the preparation of size-selected clusters and spectroscopic and computational tools to characterize them. The experimental results will be integrated into the classroom for the teaching of physical chemistry.