The delayed ionization and atomic ion emission of binary metal metallocarbohedrenes TixMyC12 (M=Zr, Nb; 0⩽y⩽4; x+y=8)

Exploring the Structural and Electronic Properties of Niobium Carbide Clusters: A Density Functional Theory Study

This paper systematically investigates the structure, stability, and electronic properties of niobium carbide clusters, NbmCn (m = 5, 6; n = 1-7), using density functional theory. Nb5C2 and Nb5C6 possess higher dissociation energies and second-order difference energies, indicating that they have higher thermodynamic stability. Moreover, ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations are used to demonstrate the thermal stability of these structures. The analysis of the density of states indicates that the molecular orbitals of NbmCn (m = 5, 6; n = 1-7) are primarily contributed by niobium atoms, with carbon atoms having a smaller contribution. The composition of the frontier molecular orbitals reveals that niobium atoms contribute approximately 73.1% to 99.8% to NbmCn clusters, while carbon atoms contribute about 0.2% to 26.9%.

Threshold photoionization and density functional theory studies of bimetallic-carbide nanocrystals and fragments: Ta3ZrC(y) (y = 0-4)

Gas-phase bimetallic tantalum-zirconium-carbide clusters are generated using a constructed double ablation cluster source. The Ta(3)ZrC(y) (y = 0-4) clusters are examined by photoionization efficiency spectroscopy to extract experimental ionization energies (IEs). The IE trend for the Ta(3)ZrC(y) cluster series is reasonably similar to that of the Ta(4)C(y) cluster series [V. Dryza et al., J. Phys. Chem. A 109, 11180 (2005)], although the IE reductions upon carbon addition are greater for the former. Complementary density functional theory calculations are performed for the various isomers constructed by attaching carbon atoms to the different faces of the tetrahedral Ta(3)Zr cluster. The good agreement between the experimental IE trend and that calculated for these isomers support a 2x2x2 face centered cubic nanocrystal structure for Ta(4)ZrC(4) and nanocrystal fragment structures for the smaller clusters.

Metal-carbon clusters: the origin of the delayed atomic ion

Studies of the emission of electrons from excited metal-carbon cluster systems that include the Met-Car (M(8)C(12), where M is Ti, Zr, and V) also have revealed the evolution of a delayed atomic ion. The source of the delayed atomic ion, which involves the emission of ionized atoms on the microsecond time scale, is the focus of this investigation. By studying the delayed ionization of mixed zirconium and titanium carbon complexes produced in a laser vaporization source coupled to a time-of-flight mass spectrometer, for the first time both the zirconium and titanium delayed atomic ions were observed to be emitted in the same experiment. These studies allowed a determination that the source of the delayed atomic ion is an excited metal dicarbide. A plausible mechanism involving the excitation of a high Rydberg state of the metal dicarbide prior to an excited ion pair separation is proposed.

Delayed ionization and fragmentation en route to thermionic emission: statistics and dynamics

Thermionic emission is discussed as a long time (microseconds) decay mode of energy-rich large molecules, metallic and metcar clusters, and fullerenes. We review what is known and consider the many experiments, systems, and theoretical and computational studies that still need to be done. We conclude with a wish list for future work. Particular attention is given to the experimental signatures, such as the dependence on the mode of energy acquisition, and theoretical indications of a not-quite-statistical delayed ionization and to the competition of electron emission with other decay modes, such as fragmentation or radiative cooling. Coupling of the electronic and nuclear modes can be a bottleneck and quite long time-delayed ionization can be observed, as in the decay of high Rydberg states probed by ZEKE spectroscopy, before the onset of complete energy partitioning.