Detecting weak interactions between Au^- and gas molecules: A photoelectron spectroscopic and Ab initio study

(Figure Presented) We show that anion photoelectron spectroscopy can be a very sensitive probe for weak intermolecular interactions between gold anion and a noble-gas atom or other nonreactive molecule. High-level ab initio calculations support the measured trend of relatively weak intermolecular interactions among various gold anion?atom complexes. The interaction between Au^? and H₂O is much stronger, comparable to a strong hydrogen bond. The interaction between Au^? and O₂ is weaker than that between Au^? and a noble-gas atom (Ar, Kr, or Xe).