Generalized Valence Bond Studies of Metallic Bonding: Naked Clusters and Applications to Bulk Metals

that the yield of matrix-trapped excess electrons in D 2 0 is larger than in H20 and concluded that D 2 0 is less efficient in the initial electron localization (to yield the solvated electron) than HzO. Our results do not, however, answer the question whether a solvated electron represents the ground state of a cluster anion comprised of as few as 12 water molecules. The reason for this difference is ascribed to the lower vibrational frequency of D20. Therefore D 2 0 is more prone to autodetachment, and this process can compete more favorably with the transfer of the excess energy (electron affinity) to the lattice, which is required for prelocalization.