Transition Metal Cluster Ion Chemistry

The reactivity and thermochemistry of ionic metal atoms and clusters has been explored using guided ion beam mass spectrometry. With this apparatus, cross sections of ion-molecule reactions can be measured from thermal energies to hundreds of eV. Application to metal cluster chemistry demonstrates its utility for elucidating reaction dynamics and mechanisms and for determining cluster binding energies and ligand binding energies for both ionic and neutral species. Early results compare the largely unreactive atomic Mn+ with the dimer Mn2+.