The far from equilibrium structure of argon clusters doped with krypton or xenon

A multi purpose source chamber at the PLEIADES beamline at SOLEIL for spectroscopic studies of isolated species: cold molecules, clusters, and nanoparticles

This paper describes the philosophy and design goals regarding the construction of a versatile sample environment: a source capable of producing beams of atoms, molecules, clusters, and nanoparticles in view of studying their interaction with short wavelength (vacuum ultraviolet and x-ray) synchrotron radiation. In the design, specific care has been taken of (a) the use standard components, (b) ensuring modularity, i.e., that swiftly switching between different experimental configurations was possible. To demonstrate the efficiency of the design, proof-of-principle experiments have been conducted by recording x-ray absorption and photoelectron spectra from isolated nanoparticles (SiO2) and free mixed clusters (Ar/Xe). The results from those experiments are showcased and briefly discussed.

Structures of mixed argon-nitrogen clusters

The structures of mixed argon-nitrogen clusters of different compositions are investigated by analyzing core level shifts and relative intensities of surface and bulk sites in the Ar 2p(3/2) regime in soft X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. These structures are confirmed by core level shift calculations taking induced dipole interactions into account, in which several model structures of the mixed clusters are considered by Monte Carlo simulations. These results suggest that the mixed argon-nitrogen clusters show partial core-shell structures, where an argon core is partially covered by nitrogen molecules.

Structures of small mixed krypton-xenon clusters

Structures of small mixed krypton-xenon clusters of different compositions with an average size of 30-37 atoms are investigated. The Kr 3d(5/2) and Xe 4d(5/2) surface core level shifts and photoelectron intensities originating from corner, edge, and face/bulk sites are analyzed by using soft x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Structural models are derived from these experiments, which are confirmed by theoretical simulation taking induced dipole interactions into account. It is found that one or two small Xe cores are partly embedded in the surface of the Kr clusters. These may grow and merge leading to a phase separation between the two rare gas moieties in mixed clusters with increasing the Xe content.

Charge delocalization dynamics of ammonia in different hydrogen bonding environments: free clusters and in liquid water solution

Valence and core level photoelectron spectra and Auger electron spectra of ammonia in pure clusters have been measured. The Auger electron spectra of gas-phase ammonia, pure ammonia clusters and ammonia in aqueous solution are compared and interpreted via ab initio calculations of the Auger spectrum of the ammonia monomer and dimer. The calculations reveal that the final two-hole valence states can be delocalized over both ammonia molecules. Features at energies pertaining to delocalized states involving one, or more, hydrogen bonding orbitals can be found in both the ammonia cluster Auger electron spectrum and in that of the liquid solvated molecule. The lower Coulombic repulsion between two delocalized valence final state holes gives higher kinetic energy of the Auger electrons which is also observed in the spectra. This decay path--specific to the condensed phase--is responsible for more than 5% of the total cluster Auger intensity. Moreover, this interpretation is also applicable to the solid phase since the same features have been observed, but not assigned, in the Auger spectrum of solid ammonia.

Novel gas-stabilized iron clusters: synthesis, structure and magnetic behaviour

A novel method for the synthesis of nanostructured films produced by depositing gas-phase magnetic nanoparticles is presented and the properties of the films are reported. The technique mixes metal vapour and small argon clusters produced in a supersonic expansion. The condensed clusters are subsequently deposited in situ onto copper grids. The cluster size is controlled by the vapour pressure of the metal inside the pick-up chamber. Detailed analysis of the transmission electron micrographs of the Fe clusters shows that there is a simple linear relationship between the average metal cluster diameter and the metal vapour pressure during deposition. Furthermore, the nanoparticles show a relatively narrow size distribution for a given set of experimental conditions. Structural and magnetic investigations have been performed on Fe cluster samples, and the influence of the metal vapour pressure has been studied. Detailed analysis of the magnetic and structural data has been performed and valuable information such as cluster size distributions, strength of the interparticle dipolar interactions and average magnetic moment per cluster are derived. It is shown that, at room temperature, the magnetic behaviour of the films is consistent with nanoparticle supermoments interacting via dipolar interactions.

Adsorption of polar molecules on krypton clusters

The formation process of binary clusters has been studied using synchrotron based core level photoelectron spectroscopy. Free neutral krypton clusters have been produced by adiabatic expansion and doped with chloromethane molecules using the pickup technique. The comparison between the integrated intensities, linewidths, and level shifts of the cluster features of pure krypton and of chloromethane-krypton clusters has been used to obtain information about the cluster geometry. We have shown that most of the chloromethane molecules remain on the surface of the clusters.

Self-assembled heterogeneous argon/neon core-shell clusters studied by photoelectron spectroscopy

Clusters formed by a coexpansion process of argon and neon have been studied using synchrotron radiation. Electrons from interatomic Coulombic decay as well as ultraviolet and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to determine the heterogeneous nature of the clusters and the cluster structure. Binary clusters of argon and neon produced by coexpansion are shown to exhibit a core-shell structure placing argon in the core and neon in the outer shells. Furthermore, the authors show that 2 ML of neon on the argon core is sufficient for neon valence band formation resembling the neon solid. For 1 ML of neon the authors observe a bandwidth narrowing to about half of the bulk value.

Preferential site occupancy of krypton atoms on free argon-cluster surfaces

Argon clusters have been doped with krypton atoms in a pick-up setup and investigated by means of ultraviolet and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS and XPS). The width of the krypton surface feature in the XPS spectra from mixed krypton/argon clusters has been studied and found to be narrower than in the case of homogeneous krypton clusters. By considering known spectral broadening mechanisms of the cluster features and the electron binding energy shift of the cluster surface feature relative to the atomic signal, we conclude that krypton ad-atoms preferentially occupy high-coordination surface sites on the argon host-cluster.