Knowledge Bank

Fourier transform infrared measurements on germanium clusters formed by trapping in solid Ar at 12 K the products from the ablation of Ge rods using a Nd-YAG laser are being carried out in conjunction with density functional theory calculations on $Gen$ structures, vibrational fundamentals, and isotopic shifts. Overlapping isotopic shifts from the large number of naturally occurring Ge isotopes complicate the FTIR spectra. Positive identification of the $Gen$ species responsible, assignment of their vibrational fundamentals, and determination of their structures therefore depend on comparison of the observed FTIR spectra with simulated spectra based on DFT predictions. Structures of $Gen$ clusters are compared with the structures previously determined for their $Sin$ counterparts.