Threshold electron spectra of semiconductor cluster ions

A simple threshold electron analyzer was constructed and laser photodetachment threshold electron spectra of Si^– and Si ₄ ^– were measured.     

Reactions of carbon cluster ions stored in an RF trap

Reactions of carbon clusterions with O₂ were studied by using an RF ion trap in which cluster ions of specific size produced by laser ablation could be stored selectively. Reaction rate constants for positive and negative carbon cluster ions were estimated. In the case of the positive cluster ions, these were consistent with the previous experimental results using FTMS. Negative carbon cluster ions C _n ^– (n=4–8) were much less reactive than positive cluster ions. The C_nO^– products were seen only in n=4 and 6.     

Electronic structure and reactivity of Mg+(H2O)n cluster ions

Electronically excited states of magnesium-water cluster ions, Mg⁺(H₂O) _n ,n=1–5, are studied by photodissociation after mass selection. The observed photodissociation spectra are assigned to the²P–²S type transitions localized on the Mg⁺ ion with the aid of ab initio CI calculations. In addition to evaporation of water molecules, photoinduced intracluster reaction to produce MgOH⁺(H₂O) _n is found to occur efficiently, with pronounced size dependence. The intriguing features observed in the mass spectrum of nascent cluster ions are discussed in relation to the stepwise solvation of this reaction.     

Theory for the atomic shell structure of the cluster magnetic moment and magnetoresistance of a cluster ensemble

We present a simple theory for the cluster size dependence of the average cluster magnetic moment of transition metal clusters. Assuming a local environmental dependence of the atomic magnetic moments, the cluster magnetization exhibits a magnetic shell structure, reflecting the atomic structure of the cluster. Thus, the observed oscillations of the average cluster magnet moment may serve as a fingerprint of the cluster geometry. We also discuss the giant magnetoresistance (GMR) exhibited by an ensemble of magnetic clusters embedded in a metallic matrix. It is shown that the magnetic anisotropy affects strongly the magnetization of the cluster ensemble under certain conditions. Since the GMR depends on the cluster ensemble magnetization, it can be used to determine the cluster magnetic anisotropy energy.     

Evaporation rates for liquid clusters

An expression for the evaporation rate of neutral atoms from a hot liquid cluster is suggested. It combines Weisskopf's statistical model with a level density that is derived from the experimentally known free energy of a macroscopic droplet of the cluster material. For the case of sodium clusters, it is compared with the rate based on the level density of a system of oscillators. For the same internal energy the latter gives substantially larger evaporation rates, whereas for equal temperature the increase is moderate. For large clusters the electronic contribution to the entropy can no longer be neglected.     

Nickel cluster structure determined from the adsorption of molecular nitrogen: Ni49-Ni71

The geometrical structures of nickel clusters in the size range from 49 to 71 atoms are studied by the chemical probe method. Saturation coverages of molecular nitrogen are determined for each cluster and from this data specific structures are proposed (except for Ni₆₆ and Ni₆₇). The results indicate that icosahedral packing is the dominant structural configuration throughout this size range, in agreement with earlier results based on water and ammonia adsorption. In addition, it seems that for clusters larger than Ni₅₄ the excessive strain in the surface of the 55-atom regular icosahedron often leads to rear-rangements of the surface atoms to relieve that strain. Ni₅₅, in particular, is found to have two isomers, the regular icosahedron and a structure in which a single apex atom is displaced to the center of an opposite face. Ni₇₁ occurs as a 55-atom regular icosahedron with a 16-atom cap. The results suggest that the atoms in the cap adopt an ABA configuration relative to the underlying icosahedron rather than an icosahedral arrangement. For some clusters the saturation with nitrogen causes a small degree of surface reconstruction that leads to the adsorption of additional nitrogen molecules.Work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Chemical Sciences, under Contract No. W-31-109-Eng-38     

Dynamics of the barium-molecule system within large argon clusters

The effects of adding molecules on the LIF at 540 nm of a barium atom at the surface of an argon cluster (average size 420) has been investigated. We showed that molecules like ethanol,n-hexane and O₂ from stable complexes with ground state barium. In the case of molecules like N₂, CH₄ and SF₆, the collisional quenching of solvated Ba(¹ P) is observed. The large quenching rates obtained are interpreted by a surface mobility of the collisional partners. Moreover, we showed that this collisional quenching leads to the ejection of free Ba(³ P ₁).     

Kinetics of cluster aggregation in competition with a chemical growth reaction

The kinetics of abundances and the distribution in size of clusters at a given time are obtained by numerical simulation in the case where a chemical growth competes with the coalescence of clusters originating from isolated monomers. To take into account the size dependence of cluster reactivity, it is assumed that the chemical reaction occurs only beyond a critical valuen _c . The kinetics of the total cluster concentration are unchanged by addition of the reactant but the size distribution is suddenly perturbed for sizes beyondn _c . The decay of the reactant, the kinetics of a cluster of a given nuclearity and the distribution of sizes at a given time depend on the relative values of the rates of coalescence and of growth due to the reactant. It is shown how the initial conditions control the kinetics and the amplitude or the time of the maximum cluster abundance. The case of an attack by a chemical reactant on clusters, restricted to low values ofn, is also considered. The concentration kinetics (for all size clusters) display much lower amplitudes than for pure coalescence case. No parity effects are observed.     

An EXAFS study of some gold and palladium cluster compounds

Gold L₃-edge EXAFS measurements at 80 K on Au₅₅(PPh₃)₁₂Cl₆ confirm that the Au-Au distances in this amorphous metal cluster compound are significantly shorter than in bulk gold. The nearest-neighbour Au-Au distances are all equal within experimental uncertainty. Outer-shell Au-Au distances have also been resolved. The results are consistent with the cuboctahedral structure originally proposed for this cluster, but not the polyicosahedral one recently suggested. Very similar results have been obtained from the sulphonated water-soluble derivative Au₅₅(PPh₂C₆H₄SO₃Na)₁₂Cl₆. In contrast, EXAFS of Au₁₁{PPh₂(p-ClC₆H₄)}₇I₃ has clearly resolved the two nearest-neighbour Au-Au distances associated with its icosahedral structure.Palladium K-edge EXAFS has been used to study the cluster Pd₅₆₁(phen)₃₆O₂₀₀. The Pd-Pd distance is nearly equal to that in bulk palladium. The results show a cubic close-packed cluster structure for this material, in contrast to the icosahedral structure reported for Pd₅₆₁(phen)₆₀(OAc)₁₈₀.     

Collision induced dissociation of stored gold cluster ions

The stability of gold cluster ions Au _n ⁺ (2n23) has been investigated via collision induced dissociation in a Penning trap. Threshold energies and dissociation channels have been determined. The cluster stability exhibits a pronounced odd — even alternation: Clusters with an odd number of atoms,n, are more stable than the even-numbered ones. Enhanced stabilities are found for Au ₃ ⁺ , Au ₉ ⁺ , and Au ₁₉ ⁺ in accordance with the Clemenger-Nilsson and the deformed jellium model of delocalized valence electrons. Excited odd cluster ions withn15 predominantly decay by evaporation of dimers; all others decay by monomer evaporation. From the dissociation channels estimates of the binding energies are deduced.This publication comprises part of the thesis of St. Becker     

Effects of the cluster surface on the electronic shell structure: faceting,roughness and softness

Several simple models have been used to study the effects of the surface on the electronic shell structure in metal clusters. The main results are as follows: The icosahedral clusters have the same electronic shell structure as the sphere up to about 1000 atoms. The surface roughness causes the distribution of the level spacings to be a Wigner distribution. By varying the softness of the potential we can obtain potentials where the simplest classical orbits are the five-point star or even the three-point star.This paper was originally submitted in connection with the 2nd. Int. Conference on Atomic and Nuclear Clusters held in Santorini from 28. June–2. July 1993 and is published here as a regular article after an independent refereeing procedure according to the standards of Z. Phys. D     

Formation and fragmentation of C n + clusters produced from a C60/C70 mixture in an electron-impact ion source

Various fullerene ions are generated in a standard plasma ion source from a vaporized mixture of C₆₀/C₇₀. Except C ₆₀ ⁺ and C ₇₀ ⁺ , the fullerene ions are formed by fragmentation of C₆₀ or C₇₀ excited by electron impact. Information on the structure and stability of the fullerene ions is obtained by studying unimolecular dissociation and collision-induced fragmentation of C ₆₀ ⁺ , C ₅₈ ⁺ and C ₅₆ ⁺ in H₂ and Ar target gases.     

Hyperpolarizability of the C60 fullerene cluster

Motivated by a discrepancy of five orders of magnitude between three different hyperpolarizability measurements on the C₆₀ fullerene, we calculated the optical response of this cluster using a tight-binding Hamiltonian and compared the results to those for a benzene molecule. Our Hamiltonian reproduces the linear polarizability and hyperpolarizability of benzene reasonably well. For C₆₀, our calculations of the bare polarizability agree only with two of the optical response measurements and indicate that the corresponding linear and nonlinear response of C₆₀ is much larger than that of C₆H₆. We find that screening effects decrease this difference strongly, and also reduce the calculated hyperpolarizability of C₆₀ to a value which is two orders of magnitude below the favored measurements.     

Energy transfer in collisions of alkali-metal clusters and ions

The electronic energy loss of a positively charged projectile passing through a sodium cluster is calculated by the semiclassical Vlasov method. The electron density before impact is obtained within the localdensity approximation in the jellium model. For the dynamical response, the Vlasov equations are solved by test particle discretization. The model gives the correct breathing mode and dipole Mie frequencies. The energy deposit is calculated as a function of projectile velocity, charge and impact parameter and is compared with theoretical and tabulated values for bulk sodium.     

Angular momentum stability of small atomic clusters

The limits of stability of small atomic clusters with angular momentum are investigated as a function of the size and charge of the aggregates. Critical angular momenta are obtained in a di-cluster picture from the balance of a cohesive surface-surface interaction and the disruptive centrifugal and electric interactions. The calculation scheme incorporates the mass and charge asymmetry degrees of freedom and it is thus particularly suited to explore cluster-cluster reaction processes. Deformation of the fragments is taken into account.     

The formation and photolysis of tantalum sulfide cluster ions

Tantalum sulfide cluster ions were produced by direct laser ablation, and were studied with a tandem time-of-flight mass spectrometer. The main dissociation channel of the UV-photolysis (248 nm) of tantalum sulfide cluster ions is sequent S₂ loss. Structures with Ta₃S₄ and Ta₄S₆ as frameworks were suggested for the large tantalum sulfide cluster ions.The work was supported by the National Natural Science Fouldation of China.     

Calculation of the electronic properties of metal dimers

The low-energy excitation spectra of metal dimers are determined by solving exactly a realistic many-body Hamiltonian with inter- and intra-atomic Coulomb interactions. Our results for Cu₂ and Ag₂ are in very good agreement with the excitation energies derived from recent photodetachment experiments. The characteristics of the many-body excited states in these clusters are briefly discussed.     

Preparation and study of silver clusters stabilized by matrices of different chemical nature

Small silver clusters characterized by an absorption band (a.b.) at 320–340 nm were stabilized in matrices of different chemical nature. Among them Ag-alumosilicate was a most suitable system for cluster study by different physical and chemical methods. Clusters introduced into the zeolite of mordenite kind were found to be the most stable. Size of stabilized silver clusters measured by different methods is discussed.     

Kinetics of cluster growth by aggregation

The classical problem of the coalescence of isolated species to produce growing clusters/colloids/polymers by successive statistical encounters having the same rate constant, is revisited using numerical simulation for a maximum nuclearity value of a few 10³ units. The evolution with time of the abundance of clusters of a given nuclearity and of the total population, and the distribution of sizes at a given time are obtained and compared with models from the literature. A remarkable feature of these curves is that they exhibit parity effects for the nuclearity, even clusters being systematically more abundant than odd ones. For easier comparison with experiments, some simulated curves are presented in the form of an approximated analytical expression: kinetics of the total population, and of the monomer, dimer and higher oligomers populations, amplitudes at the maximum and delay for the maximum as functions of the nuclearity, size distribution at a given time. The validity of the approximations is discussed.     

Ionization potential measurements of hydrogenated lithium clusters

Ionization Potentials of Li_nH_m clusters have been measured by photoionization. As in Li_n, odd-even alternations and shell closing effects are observed. In a first approximation, we find that Li_nH clusters behave like Li_n–1 and Li_nH₂ like Li_n–2. The results may be interpreted by assuming that the bonding of one hydrogen localizes one electron and that the other electrons remain delocalized.