Intracluster ion molecule reactions following the generation of Mg+ within polar clusters

In this work we investigated the intracluster ion molecule reactions following the generation of Mg⁺ within the polar clusters (water, methanol, ether and acetonitrile), using time of flight mass spectrometry. In the case of Mg⁺/water and Mg⁺/methanol, dehydrogenation reactions are observed after the addition of five molecules. However, no dehydrogenation reactions are observed in the case of Mg⁺/ether or Mg⁺/acetonitrile clusters. This confirms the role of the H atom in (O–H) in the dehydrogenation reaction, and rules out any contribution from the H atom in the CH₃ group. In addition, the magic numbers in the time of flight (TOF) mass spectra of the Mg⁺X_n clusters (X = H₂O, CH₃OH, CH₃OCH₃ and CH₃CN) have been investigated. Finally, the role of ground electronic magnesium ion Mg⁺(²S_1/2), and excited electronic magnesium ion Mg⁺(²P_1/2) in the dehydrogenation reaction were investigated using Ion Mobility Mass spectrometry. The results offer direct evidence confirming the absence of the electronically excited, Mg⁺(²P_1/2).

Intracluster Ion−Molecule Reactions of Ti+with C2H5OH and CF3CH2OH Clusters: Influence of Fluorine Substituents on Chemical Reactivity

A laser ablation-molecular beam/reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometric technique was used to investigate the ion-molecule reactions that proceed within Ti+(ROH)n (R = C2H5, CF3CH2) heterocluster ions. The mass spectra exhibit a major sequence of cluster ions with the formula Ti+(OR)m(ROH)n (m = 1, 2), which is attributed to sequential insertions of Ti+ into the O-H bond of C2H5OH or CF3CH2OH molecules within the heteroclusters, followed by H eliminations. The TiO+ and TiOH+ ions produced from the reactions of Ti+ with C2H5OH are interpreted as arising from insertion of Ti+ into the C-O bond, followed by C2H5 and C2H6 eliminations, respectively. When Ti+ reacted with CF3CH2OH, by contrast, considerable contributions from TiFOH+, TiF2+, and TiF2OH+ ions were observed in the mass spectrum of the reaction products, indicating that F and OH abstractions are the dominant product channels. Ab initio calculations of the complex of Ti+ with 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol show that the minimum energy structure is that in which Ti+ is attached to the O atom and one of the three F atoms of 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol, forming a five-membered ring. Isotope-labeling experiments additionally show that the chemical reactivity of heterocluster ions is greatly influenced by the presence of fluorine substituents and cluster size. The reaction energetics and formation mechanisms of the observed heterocluster ions are discussed.

Spectroscopy and reactivity of size-selected Mg[sup +]-ammonia clusters

Photodissociation spectra for mass-selected Mg(+)(NH(3))(n) clusters for n=1 to 7 are reported over the photon energy range from 7000 to 38 500 cm(-1). The singly solvated cluster, which dissociates primarily via a N-H bond cleavage, exhibits a resolved vibrational structure corresponding to two progressions in the intracluster Mg(+)-NH(3) modes. The addition of the second, third, and fourth solvent molecules results in monotonic redshifts that appear to halt near 8500 cm(-1), where a sharp feature in the electronic spectrum is correlated with the formation of a Mg(+)(NH(3))(4) complex with T(d) symmetry and the closing of the first solvation shell. The spectra for the clusters with 5 to 7 solvent molecules strongly resemble that for the tetramer, suggesting that these solvent molecules occupy a second solvation shell. The wavelength-dependent branching-ratio measurements show that increasing the photon energies generally result in the loss of additional solvent molecules but that enhancements for a specific solvent number loss may reveal special stability for the resultant fragments. The majority of the experimental evidence suggests that the decay of these clusters occurs via the internal conversion of the initially excited electronic states to the ground state, followed by dissociation. In the case of the monomer, the selective cleavage of a N-H bond in the solvent suggests that this internal-conversion process may populate regions of the ground-state surface in the vicinity of an insertion complex H-Mg(+)-NH(2), whose existence is predicted by ab initio calculations.

Molecular aspects of halide ion hydration: the cluster approach

This review provides a historical context for our understanding of the hydration shell surrounding halide ions and illustrates how the cluster systems can be used, in combination with theory, to elucidate the behavior of water molecules in direct contact with the anion. We discuss how vibrational predissociation spectroscopy, carried out with weakly bound argon atoms, has been employed to deduce the morphology of the small water networks attached to anions in the primary steps of hydration. We emphasize the importance of charge-transfer in the binary interaction, and discuss how this process affects the structures of the larger networks. Finally, we survey how the negatively charged water clusters (H2O)n(-) are providing a molecular-level perspective on how diffuse excess electrons interact with the water networks.