The use of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to assess d orbital participation in compounds of silicon and germanium

Abstract

Chemical shifts in core binding energies have been determined for analogous gaseous compounds of carbon, silicon and germanium. These data, in conjunction with the atomic charge potential model and both CNDO/2 and electronegativity parameter charges, indicate that the silicon and germanium atoms in these compounds, except for SiH 4 and GeH 4, have unexpectedly negative charges. The results are consistent with the existence of significant pπ—dπ bonding in these compounds.