Investigating the dissociation energies of niobium and vanadium oxide clusters synthesized by ion sputtering

The mass distributions and fragmentation routes of Nb _n O _m ⁺ and V _n N _m ⁺ clusters sputtered from an metal surfaces with Xe⁺ ions under O₂ pressure of P = 4?5 × 10^?3 Pa in a bombardment chamber are studied by means of secondary ion mass spectrometry. The spectra of kinetic energy release distribution (KERD) are measured for the most probable routes of the fragmentation of Nb _n O _m ⁺ and V _n N _m ⁺ and clusters, on the basis of which the activation energies of the decomposition (dissociation) of Nb _n O _m ⁺ and V _n N _m ⁺ clusters are determined within the model of evaporative ensemble and the theory of monomolecular reactions. The results show the closeness of the numerical values of dissociation energies derived using both models.