Gas-phase "molecular alloys" of bulk immiscible elements: iron-silver (FexAgy)

Binary cluster ions of ion and silver are produced by pulsed supersonic nozzle expansion, pulsed laser ionization. Although these elements arc mutually insoluble in both the liquid and solid states, all combinations of Fe x Ag y + mass spectrometry. In the low-nuclearity cluster regime, species having the same number of atoms but different Fe:Ag ratios are not observed in equal abundance. High-ionizing laser fluences produce clusters richer in silver. The FeAg + dimer is explored. Its binding encrgy is bracketed between 2.33 and 3.50 eV