A novel desorption mechanism of (AgnIn?1)+ cluster ions

Silver iodide clusters have been generated by inert gas condensation technique, ionized via electron impact, and mass analyzed in a reflectron equipped time-of-flight mass spectrometer. The mass spectra are dominated by cluster ions of the composition (Ag_nI_n?1)⁺. Additional kinetic energy analysis is applied to detect metastable decay of the cluster ions for n up to 30. In contrast to alkali halides, where halogen and monomer desorption had been observed, the main decay channel of silver iodide cluster ions is the loss of a neutral trimer Ag₃I₃.