Delayed photodissociation of the tin cluster Sn22. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2024;26:1105-1112. [PMID: 38098439 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp04476a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0]

Millisecond-delayed photodissociation of gas-phase Sn22- clusters stored in a Penning trap is investigated as a function of excitation energy. Sn15- is the only significant charged fragment, indicative of the break-off of neutral heptamers. Fits of the time-resolved fragmentation require a distribution of decay constants, caused by the finite width of the internal energy distribution of the cluster ensemble prior to photoexcitation. A lower limit for the dissociation energy for the loss of Sn7 is determined to be 2.1(1) eV, a factor of two above literature quantum chemical calculations.

Nucleation rates for the condensation of monovalent metals

We show that consideration of both cluster growth and magic numbers are necessary to accurately calculate nucleation rates for the condensation of alkali and coinage metal vapors. The effects are not additive. Rates calculated using the modified theory differ up to several orders of magnitude from typical classical calculations. Calculated rates compare favorably with experimental nucleation onset and rate data for lithium, sodium, cesium, and silver. Verifiable predictions are made for the other alkali and coinage metals.