Electronic structures of the negative ions Si−2 –Si−10: Electron affinities of small silicon clusters

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Abstract
Accurate ab initio calculations have been performed to investigate the structures and energies of the negative ions of Si2–Si10. The effects of polarization functions, diffuse functions, and electron correlation have been included in these calculations. In most cases, there is a good correspondence between the ground state structures of the negative ions and those of the corresponding neutral species. Adiabatic electron affinities are computed and compared with recent experimental measurements. Si3, Si5, Si8, and Si9 are found to have electron affinities which are larger than their neighbors. This result is interpreted using our previous calculations on the low‐lying states of the corresponding neutral species.