Cluster ions ejected from an Li-Mg alloy liquid metal ion source: Observation of MG 2 2+ and MG 3 2+

Ions ejected from a liquid metal ion source of an Li-Mg (10 atom %) alloy have been investigated by using a magnetic mass analyzer. In addition to singly charged homonuclear Li _n ⁺ (n ≤ 9) and Mg _n ⁺ (n ≤ 4) and heteronuclear Mg_mLi _n ⁺ (m, n ≤ 2) clusters, doubly charged diatomic and triatomic Mg clusters are observed. Discussion is focused on the observability and the formation mechanism of the doubly charged small Mg clusters. A postionization process is suggested for the formation of the doubly charged clusters.     

Coincidence studies of collisionally induced fission of C 60 2+

A direct measurement of collisionally induced fission of C ₆₀ ²⁺ has been performed. We have measured coincidences between various charged fragments resulting from collisions between C ₆₀ ²⁺ and He atoms. The measurements show that C ₆₀ ²⁺ not only emits C₂ units but also breaks up into larger, singly charged parts. In this paper, we report on coincidences between C _n ⁺ (2≦n≦9) and C _m ⁺ (42≦m≦48) fragment ions.     

Shell effects in singly and multiply charged silver and gold clusters

The mass spectra of silver- and gold-clusters, generated by a gas aggregation technique and ionized by electron impact, reveal anomalies in the relative abundance of both singly and multiply charged clusters. Concentration maxima for singly charged species Ag _n ⁺ and Au _n ⁺ (n=3, 9, 19, (21), 35) are in agreement with experimental data of Katakuse and the predictions from the electronic shell model. The observed anomalies in the abundance spectra of doubly charged silver and gold clusters as well as triply charged silver cluster ions are explained in terms of electronic shell closing.     

Analytical photoion spectroscopy applied to dissociative single and double photoionization of diatomic molecules (H2, N2, O2, CO,and NO)

This work reports the principle, advantage, and limitations of analytical photoion spectroscopy which has been applied to dissociative photoionization processes for diatomic molecules such as H₂, N₂, CO, and NO. Characteristic features observed in the differential photoion spectra are summarized with a focus on (pre)dissociation of(i) multielectron excitation states commonly observed in the inner valence regions,(ii) shape resonances, and(iii) doubly charged parent ions. Possible origins for negative peaks in the differential spectra are discussed. This spectroscopy is applied to the reported photoion branching ratios for D₂ (and H₂ at high energies). The main findings are as follows: (1) The direct dissociation of theX ²Σ _g ⁺ (1sσ _g ) state of D ₂ ⁺ , the two-electron excited state¹Σ _u ⁺ (2pσ _u 2sσ _g ) of D₂, and the²Σ _u ⁺ (2pσ _u ) state of D ₂ ⁺ appear clearly in the differential spectrum, as previously observed for H₂. (2) Decay of H ₂ ⁺ (D ₂ ⁺ ) to H⁺ (D⁺) above 38 eV is due to the direct dissociation of highly excited states of H ₂ ⁺ (D ₂ ⁺ ) such as the²Σ _g ⁺ (2sσ _g ) and high-lying Rydberg states converging on H ₂ ²⁺ (D ₂ ²⁺ ). (3) In the ionization continuum of H ₂ ²⁺ (D ₂ ²⁺ ) peculiar dissociation pathways are observed. The differential photoion spectra for O₂ derived from the reported photoion branching ratios are also presented. The (pre)dissociation of theb ⁴Σ _g ^? ,B ²Σ _g ^? , III²Π _u ,²Σ _u ^? , and^2,4Σ _g ^? states of O ₂ ⁺ appears as the corresponding positive values in the spectra in accord with previous observations. Some other dissociation pathways possibly contributing to the spectra are discussed including dissociative double ionization.     

Doubly charged sodium clusters: plasmon response and photoproduction

The optical response of doubly charged sodium clusters Na _n+2 ⁺⁺ was measured for n = 20, 40, and 58 valence electrons, for which the jellium model predicts spherical clusters. A new experimental scheme was developed which allows to separate doubly charged clusters of even mass from the singly charged with half the mass. The optical spectra are dominated by a plasmon-like resonance which is blue shifted and narrower than that of the singly charged clusters. The smallest doubly charged cluster observed was Na ₉ ⁺⁺ . The photo ionization cross section for singly charged clusters was found to be typically 2.6·10^-19cm² per Na atom for photon energies of around 6 eV, which is a factor of 400 smaller than the maximum in the plasmon absorption in the region of hω=2.6 eV.     

Primary processes in the thiacyanine dimer-photosensitized reduction of p-nitroacetophenone in water by

Primary processes in the reduction of p-nitroacetophenone (p-NAP) by ascorbic acid (AA) in water photosensitized by thiacyanine dimers M ₂ ^2? have been considered. For M ₂ ^2? , the quantum yields of fluorescence and intersystem crossing to the triplet state (M ₂ ^2? )_T increases in comparison to the monomers M^?. The dimers (M ₂ ^2? )_T enter into the reactions of both one-electron photoreduction by ascorbic acid to give AA^+· and M ₂ ^3? and one-electron photooxidation by p-nitroacetophenone to give p-NAP^?· and the dimeric radical anion M ₂ ^? which dissociates to M^? and M^· within 25–30 μs. The primary oxidative or reductive photosensitization in the ternary systems containing (M ₂ ^2? )_T, p-NAP, and AA affords p-NAP^?· and AA^+·.     

A theoretical study of internal rearrangements and open channels for fission and mass exchanges in Xe n + clusters

In a previous work the equilibrium geometrical and electronic structures of Xe _n ⁺ clusters had been established using a non-empirical model hamiltonian. The same model is used to determine the energetic barriers between the nearly degenerate isomers; the movement of the neutral atoms around the Xe ₃ ⁺ or Xe ₄ ⁺ ionized linear cores are quite easy (ΔE?0.9 kcal/mole), the changes from a Xe ₃ ⁺ to a Xe ₄ ⁺ core are more difficult (ΔE?2.0 kcal/mole). The energetically possible fissions from a vertical photoionization \(Xe_n \xrightarrow{{h v}}Xe_n^{v + } \to Xe_p^ + + Xe_{n - p} \) forn≦19,p=1–9 and 12–14 and mass exchanges Xe _p ⁺ +Xe _q →Xe _p+m ⁺ +Xe _q?m (m=1,2,3) from relaxed Xe _p ⁺ clusters are given forp+m≦9 and 12–14 andq≦19. Surprisingly the reverse reactions are shown to occur for some values ofp andq. Numerous processes lead to Xe ₁₃ ⁺ , which is especially stable.     

Low-energy decay pathways of doubly charged charged silver clusters Ag n 2+ n = 9–24)

The low-energy dissociation channels of mass selected silver cluster ions Ag _n ²⁺ (n = 9–24) are determined by collision induced dissociation (CID) in a Penning trap. While all clusters of the size n ≥ 17 evaporate neutral monomers, most smaller clusters undergo asymmetric fission of the form Ag _n ²⁺ → Ag _n?3 ⁺ + Ag _{3} ⁺ . However, Ag ₁₅ ²⁺ and Ag ₁₁ ²⁺ emit monomers which indicates shell or odd-even effects. The observed fragmentation pathways are different from previous reports of measurements with sputtered Ag _n ²⁺ .     

Magic numbers in sims of Mn similar to those of charged Ar clusters

Manganese cluster ions Mn _k ⁺ (k?60) have been produced by 7 keV Xe ion bombardment and analyzed by a double-focusing mass spectrometer. Discontinuous variations of intensity are found atk=5, 14, 16, 29, 34, 45 and 54. Most of these magic numbers coincide with or differ by only one from those observed in Ar _k ⁺ . The similarity in magic numbers between Mn _k ⁺ and Ar _k ⁺ indicates that the bonding nature in the charged Mn clusters is similar to that in the charged Ar clusters; The polarization force between a positive ion in the center of a cluster and surrounding neutral atoms is dominant binding force.     

FTMS studies of sputtered metal cluster ions (IV): size-selective effects in the chemistry of Fe n + with NH3 and Pd n + with D2 or C2H4

Fe _n ⁺ and Pd _n ⁺ clusters up ton=19 andn=25, respectively, are produced in an external ion source by sputtering of the respective metal foils with Xe⁺ primary ions at 20 keV. They are transferred to the ICR cell of a home-built Fourier transform mass spectrometer, where they are thermalized to nearly room temperature and stored for several tens of seconds. During this time, their reactions with a gas leaked in at low level are studied. Thus in the presence of ammonia, most Fe _n ⁺ clusters react by simply adsorbing intact NH₃ molecules. Only Fe ₄ ⁺ ions show dehydrogenation/adsorption to Fe₄(NH) _m ⁺ intermediates (m=1, 2) that in a complex scheme go on adsorbing complete NH₃ units. To clarify the reaction scheme, one has to isolate each species in the ion cell, which often requires the ejection of ions very close in mass. This led to the development of a special isolation technique that avoids the use of isotopically pure metal samples. Pd _n ⁺ cluster ions (n=2...9) dehydrogenate C₂H₄ in general to yield Pd _n (C₂H₂)⁺, yet Pd ₆ ⁺ appear totally unreactive. Towards D₂, Pd ₇ ⁺ ions seem inert, whereas Pd ₈ ⁺ adsorb up to two molecules.     

Kinetic energy release of clusters after multiphoton ionisation with time of flight and electrostatic analyser techniques

A new technique is presented which allows direct observation of initial kinetic energies in multiphoton ionisation-fragmentation processes of molecules and clusters and provides an unambiguous determination of metastable decay channels. Results are presented for the unimolecular loss of a monomer from clusters (C₆H₆) ₈ ⁺ to (C₆H₆) ₁₂ ⁺ and for the reaction C₆H ₆ ⁺ →C₄H ₄ ⁺ +C₂H₂. We also observe a significant amount of probably collision induced fragmentation processes (C₆H₆) _n ⁺ →(C₆H₆) _n?x ⁺ + (C₆H₆) _x withx much larger than 1.     

Formation of negatively-charged cluster ions in thermal energy collisions with state-selected rydberg atoms

Using crossed atomic, molecular cluster, and cw laser beams in conjunction with mass spectrometric ion detection, we have obtained for the first time results for electron transfer fromstate-selected Rydberg atoms to molecular clusters. We report negative ion mass spectra for (CO₂) _k ^? (4≦k≦25) and (O₂) _k ^? (1≦k≦13) cluster ions, resulting from collisions of Ar** (nd) Rydberg atoms (12≦n≦40) with (CO₂) _m and (O₂) _m clusters at relative velocities around 830 m/s, and, for comparison, positive ion mass spectra due to Ne(3s ³ P _{2, 0}) Penning ionization. For both CO ₂ ^? and O₂-clusters, the negative and the positive ion mass spectra are very different. For (CO₂) _k ^Emphasis>/? cluster ions, the mass spectra show distinct variations with principal quantum number of the Rydberg atom, corresponding to differentn-dependences of the effective rate constant for selected cluster ions, as measured relative to the knownn-dependence for SF ₆ ^? formation in collisions with SF₆. For (O₂) _k ^? cluster ions, on the other hand, the mass spectra are almost independent ofn with ion intensities, which clearly reflect their thermochemical stabilities (O ₄ ^? as dominant species).     

On the stability of Pb n m+ -clusters

The stability of multiply charged Pb _n ^m+ -clusters (n ≤ 3;m=0, 1, 2) was studied by solving exactly for the valencep-electrons a many body Hubbard-like Hamiltonian with intra- and interatomic Coulomb interactions. Particularly we obtain that Pb ₃ ²⁺ has a metastable ground state, in which Pb ₃ ²⁺ has isosceles shape (bond lengthR=3.2 Å, bond angle θ=124°) and a positive binding energyE _B =3.4 eV. The activation barrier against dissociation into Pb ₂ ⁺ + Pb⁺ is 0.13 eV, yielding a very long lifetime. This is in agreement with recent experiments [1] in which the lifetime of Pb ₃ ²⁺ was determined to be at least 10^?6 s. Comparison with self consistent Hartree-Fock calculations shows that the metastability of Pb ₃ ²⁺ is due to electronic correlations within the paramagnetic ground state.     

Electronic structures and stabilities of GeC n and Ge2C n in Hückel theory

Some recent results about Ge _p C _n ⁺ ions (p=1, 2;n < 6) produced in laser microprobe mass analyser experiments (LAMMA) show very marked alternations in the emission intensities I(Ge _p C _n ⁺ ) as a function of then andp parities. I(Ge _p C _n ⁺ ) are maxima for evenn. Thus, intensity maxima occur when the total atom numberm of the aggregates is odd for GeC _n ⁺ (m=n+1) and even for Ge₂C _n ⁺ (m=n+2). As a result, GeC _n ⁺ ions seem to behave as C _m ⁺ ions, whereas the behaviour of Ge₂C _n ⁺ ions is quite similar to that of Ge _p ⁺ ions formed in SIMS or vaporization experiments on pure germanium. It is well known (correspondence rule) that the parity effect in the emissions corresponds to alternations in the ion stabilities. These results are analysed from a model built in Hückel approximation with hybridization. Forp=1, the clusters are assumed to be insp hybridization as for C _m ⁺ ions, hence with linear shapes, and forp=2, they would rather be insp ² orsp ³ hybridization as for Ge _p ⁺ ions. Relative stabilities and distributions of the energy levels of the aggregates are then calculated. The relative stabilities given for Ge _p C _n ⁺ by this model show maxima for evenn as in experiments, and we have thus a good agreement between our calculation results and the experimental data. Moreover, we found that Ge₂C _n ⁺ would rather be insp ³ hybridization, that is under three dimensional shapes.     

Bimetallic cluster cations ejected from a liquid metal ion source: Li-Na and Li-Mg

Cluster ions of alloys (Li-Na, Li-Mg) have been produced by a liquid metal ion source (LMIS), and analyzed by mass spectrometry. For the Li-Na system, bimetallic clusters with various compositions were formed, and dominant bimetallic species were Na₂Li⁺, NaLi⁺, NaLi ₂ ⁺ and NaLi ₈ ⁺ with this sequence of ion intensity. These clusters are systems containing 2 or 8 valence electrons except for NaLi⁺. For the Li-Mg, observed bimetallic clusters were limited to only three species (MgLi⁺, MgLi ₂ ⁺ and Mg₂Li⁺), but unexpectedly small multiply charged homonuclear clusters, Mg ₂ ²⁺ and Mg ₃ ²⁺ , were observed.     

Stability of multiply charged silver clusters

Using the gasaggregation technique it is possible to generate metal clusters in narrow size distributions and to vary their mean size by adjusting the cell parameters. The high intensity of this source allows to detect besides singly charged clusters also multiply charged ones. Ag _n ²⁺ and Ag _n ³⁺ are observed forn≧9 andn≧31, respectively; i.e. at values well below the critical sizes reported for spheres.     

Fragmentation of clusters induced by collision with a solid surface: comparison of antimony and bismuth cluster ions

Mass-selected antimony cluster ions Sb _n ⁺ (n = 3-12) and bismuth cluster ions Bi _{ntn} ⁺ (n = 3-8) are allowed to collide with the surface of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite at energies up to 350 eV. The resulting fragment ions are analysed in a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. Two main fragmentation channels can be identified. At low impact energies both Sb _n ⁺ and Bi _n ⁺ cluster ions lose neutral tetramer and dimer units upon collision. Above about 150 eV impact energy Sb ₃ ⁺ becomes the predominant fragment ion of all investigated antimony clusters. The enhanced stability of these fragment clusters can be explained in the framework of the polyhedral skeletal electron pair theory. In contrast, Bi _n ⁺ cluster scattering leads to the formation of Bi ₃ ⁺ , Bi ₂ ⁺ and Bi+ with nearly equal abundances, if the collision energy exceeds 75 eV. The integral scattering yield is substantially higher in this case as compared to Sb _n ⁺ clusters.     

Shell correction study of fission of doubly charged silver clusters

Fission of doubly charged silver clusters is investigated by the method of shell corrections. The following fission events are considered: Ag ₂₂ ²⁺ → Ag _n ⁺ + Ag _{22 ?n} ⁺ , (n=11, 10, 9, 8); Ag ₂₁ ²⁺ → Ag _n ⁺ + Ag _{21 ?n} ⁺ , (n=10, 9, 8, 7); Ag ₁₈ ²⁺ → Ag _n ⁺ + Ag _{18 ?n} ⁺ , (n=9, 8, 7, 6). It is found that the shell correction energy is comparable to or larger than the deformation energy of the liquid drop. Threshold energies for the fission events are calculated and compared with the experimental abundance spectra obtained by Katakuse et al. (1990). Correspondence between the calculated threshold energies with the shell corrections and the experimental abundance is very good, showing products from lower threshold fission channels yield more abundance. The threshold energies without the shell corrections are almost constant irrespective of the fission channels and cannot explain the experimental abundance. Abundance of some products are too small to be accounted for only by the threshold energies. The low abundance of those products may be explained by the presence of competing fission channels that have similar minimal energy paths. It is found in fission of Ag ₁₈ ²⁺ that the shell correction overwhelms the Coulomb energy and the fission channel to Ag₈ + Ag ₁₀ ²⁺ is preferred over the fission channel to Ag ₈ ⁺ + Ag ₁₀ ⁺ .     

The two-centre shell model for the fission of metallic clusters

We calculate potential energies for charged and neutral jellium clusters which fragment in two pieces, in the framework of the liquid drop model plus Strutinsky shell corrections obtained from the two-centre harmonic oscillator. We consider the symmetric fragmentation of Na ₄ ⁺ ₂ ⁺ , Na ₁ ⁺ ₈ ⁺ , and Na₃₈. Good agreement is found with results obtained by self-consistent methods, which are much more involved.