New rare-gas-containing neutral molecules

The synthesis of novel neutral rare-gas-containing molecules of type HXY, w here X = Xe or Kr and Y is an electronegative atom or fragment, is discusse d. The molecules are characterised experimentally by their vibrational spec tra and computationally by extensive ab initio calculations. They are forme d in low-temperature rare-gas solids from neutral reagents and their bondin g consists of both covalent and ionic contributions. Our recent studies add to the previously known class of rare-gas chemical bonds in neutral ground state molecules the new bonds Xe-H, Xe-I, Xe-Br, Xe-S, Kr-H, Kr-C, and Kr-C l.