Isoelectronic IrC3-, PtC3, and AuC3+ Clusters Featuring the Structural and Bonding Resemblance to OC3

J Phys Chem Lett. 2022 Jan 13;13(1):12-17. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.1c03754. Epub 2021 Dec 23.

Abstract

The IrC3- and PtC3- anions generated by laser vaporization were identified and characterized by gas-phase photoelectron spectroscopy and quantum-chemical calculations. The straight-chain structures with an MCCC (M = metal; C = carbon) connectivity are found for the isoelectronic IrC3-, PtC3, and AuC3+ clusters. Further elaborate analyses manifest the strikingly structural and bonding similarities between MC3-/0/+ clusters and OC3 revealed. This finding has broadened the notion of autogenic isolobality to the gas-phase clusters that contain Ir-, Pt, Au+, and C centers.