About the Unexpected Structure and Properties of Molecules Bonded to Metal Nanoclusters.

Abstract

SERS (Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering) is a very powerful technique to gain insight into the nature of metal-molecule hybrids on a molecular level. We show the results of combining SERS and theoretical calculations (1) to analyze the subtle electronic structure of metal-molecule (M-A) interfaces, especially to study the dependence of their structure and properties on applied electric potentials or fields. An example of this is the huge efficiency of the potential (EV) in tuning the energies (E) of metal-molecule charge transfer (CT) states. An equivalence between both quantities is expected on the basis of classical electrochemistry (G=E/EV=1 eV/V) but observed energy gains up to G=4 or 5 eV/V can be explained by combining the dependence of the CT energies (E) on the excess of charge of the metal (qeff) (see Graphical Abstract) and the capacitive enhancement located at metallic nanostructures (2). Moreover, theoretical calculations predict a dual electronic structure of the M-A surface complex in the case of charged molecules bonded to charged metals. These two types of surface states of the same hybrid system are of a very different nature and are selected by the sign of the metal charge (qeff). It is predicted that a single M-A complex can be very strongly bonded (chemisorbed) or form weak and very polarizable complexes (physisorbed) depending on the charges of both the ionic species and the surface excess of the metal which is modulated by the applied potential. These two types of complexes determine the properties of the overall system in the ground electronic state, like the behavior of the wavenumbers of the CN stretching band adsorbed on metals (3-4), as well as in excited states, like the forward and reverse metal-molecule CT states of the isonicotinate anion bonded to positive (chemisorbed, G~0 eV/V) or negative (physisorbed, high G) silver clusters (5), respectively (see Graphical Abstract).