Knowledge Bank

Ni-CO$2$ cluster cations were produced by laser vaporization of a Ni rod in a pulsed CO$2$ expansion. Clusters were mass-selected in a time-of-flight mass spectrometer and studied with infrared laser photodissociation spectroscopy using an infrared OPO laser system. The infrared spectra of larger clusters provide evidence for an intracluster reaction assisted by CO$2$ solvation. These spectra are compared to determine the reaction product.