{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,16]],"date-time":"2026-07-16T17:39:43Z","timestamp":1784223583600,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":74,"publisher":"AIP Publishing","issue":"5","funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["12374244"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["12374244"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["12341401"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["12341401"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Scientific Research Development Fund Project of the Zhejiang A&F University","award":["2024LFR048"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024LFR048"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["pubs.aip.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,7]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>We report the high-resolution photoelectron spectroscopy of transition metal carbide cluster anions TaCn\u2212 (n = 2\u20134) using a cryogenic ion trap combined with the slow electron velocity imaging (cryo-SEVI) technique. From the vibrationally resolved photoelectron spectra and associated ab\u00a0initio calculations, the electron affinities of TaCn (n = 2\u20134) were determined with high precision: 1.818(2), 2.202(5), and 2.431(2) eV, respectively. The electronic and vibrational structures observed in the photoelectron spectra were interpreted using density-functional theory and coupled-cluster singles and doubles with perturbative triples calculations. Both the neutral TaCn clusters and their anions exhibit planar C2v structures, where the Ta atom bridges each C atom. Furthermore, we observed the spin\u2013orbit splitting in the ground state of TaC2 (X\u03034B1), with a measured splitting of 256(25) cm\u22121. This splitting is well explained by the calculated E1\/2(\u00b13\/2)\u2212E1\/2(\u00b11\/2) splitting of 216\u00a0cm\u22121, obtained using the MRCI+SOC method.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1063\/5.0253195","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,4]],"date-time":"2025-02-04T11:11:10Z","timestamp":1738667470000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1063\/aip-crossmark-policy-page","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Probing electronic and vibrational structures of TaC<i>n<\/i>\u2212\/0 (<i>n<\/i> = 2\u20134) using high-resolution photoelectron spectroscopy and theoretical calculations"],"prefix":"10.1063","volume":"162","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-2007-2007","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Xiaolin","family":"Chen","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Optical, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Zhejiang A&F University 1 , Hangzhou 311300,","place":["China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8820-6753","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shuaiting","family":"Yan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Quantum Physics, Frontier Science Center for Quantum Information, Tsinghua University 2 , Beijing 100084,","place":["China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9080-4528","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rui","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Quantum Physics, Frontier Science Center for Quantum Information, Tsinghua University 2 , Beijing 100084,","place":["China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3158-1253","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chuangang","family":"Ning","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Quantum Physics, Frontier Science Center for Quantum Information, Tsinghua University 2 , Beijing 100084,","place":["China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"317","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"2025020411110463500_c1","volume-title":"The Chemistry of Transition Metal Carbides and Nitrides","year":"1996"},{"key":"2025020411110463500_c2","volume-title":"Carbides: Properties, Production, and Applications","year":"2012"},{"key":"2025020411110463500_c3","volume-title":"Transition Metal Carbides and Nitrides","year":"2014"},{"key":"2025020411110463500_c4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"262","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-021-27878-1","volume":"13","year":"2022","journal-title":"Nat. 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