C5Li7(+) and O2Li5(+) as noble-gas-trapping agents.

The noble-gas-trapping ability of the star-shaped C(5)Li(7)(+) cluster and O(2)Li(5)(+) super-alkali cluster is studied by using ab initio and density functional theory (DFT) at the MP2 and M05-2X levels with 6-311+G(d,p) and 6-311+G(d) basis sets. These clusters are shown to be effective noble-gas-trapping agents. The stability of noble-gas-loaded clusters is analyzed in terms of dissociation energies, reaction enthalpies, and conceptual DFT-based reactivity descriptors. The presence of an external electric field improves the dissociation energy.