Theory for the Transition from Van Der Waals to Covalent to Metallic Mercury Clusters

Abstract

The transition from van der Waals to covalent and then to metallic bonded Hgn clusters, the ionization potential In, the s, p energy gap Δn, the cohesive energy, and the autoionization resonance, are determined. The transition involving s-electron delocalization and s-p electronic transitions is estimated to occur for clusters having approximately (15 ÷ 20) Hg-atoms.