EVOLUTION OF THE ELECTRONIC-STRUCTURE OF SMALL VANADIUM CLUSTERS FROMMOLECULAR TO BULK-LIKE

The evolution of the electronic structure of V-n clusters is probed by photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) at 3.49, 4.66, and 6.42 eV photon en ergies. Three regions of spectral evolution are distinctly observed as a function of cluster size: molecularlike behavior for n = 3-12; tran sition from molecular to bulklike for n = 13-17; gradual convergence t o bulk for n > 17, for which a surfacelike feature is observed to slow ly merge into the bulk feature near n = 60. The PES spectra provide an atom-by-atom view of the evolution of the electronic structure of the V, clusters from molecular to bulklike.