Structural evolution of small ruthenium cluster anions
The structures of ruthenium cluster anions have been investigated using a combination of trapped ion electron diffraction and density functional theory computations in the size range from eight to twenty atoms. In this size range, three different structural motifs are found: Ru{sub 8}{sup −}–Ru{sub 12}{sup −} have simple cubic structures, Ru{sub 13}{sup −}–Ru{sub 16}{sup −} form double layered hexagonal structures, and larger clusters form close packed motifs. For Ru{sub 17}{sup −}, we find hexagonal close packed stacking, whereas octahedral structures occur for Ru{sub 18}{sup −}–Ru{sub 20}{sup −}. Our calculations also predict simple cubic structures for the smaller clusters Ru{sub 4}{sup −}–Ru{sub 7}{sup −}, which were not accessible to electron diffraction measurements.