Concepts and Materials for Sub Nano Chemistry

Ultra-small metal and metal compound nanoclusters are produced and characterized in the gas phase using laser ablation of solid metal targets and then subsequently captured in solution. Fundamental measurements in the gas phase use mass spectrometry, laser photodissociation and infrared laser spectroscopy, complemented by computational quantum chemistry.In spectroscopy experiments, we have investigated metal ion-acetylene complexes of vanadium and zinc which are important as models for catalytic combustion processes. In synthesis experiments, metal-containing clusters produced initially in the gas phase are coated with ligands and captured in solution, stabilized with ligand coatings, using a new fast-flow