Laser photodissociation spectroscopy of mass-selected metal clusters

Electronic spectra are reported for the metal cluster (Te₂⁺) and metal cluster complex (Ag⁺-benzene, Mg⁺-CO₂) cations. These ions are generated by laser vaporization in a pulsed nozzle source, jet-cooled, mass-selected with a reflectron time-of-flight spectrometer, and dissociated on resonance with a tunable dye laser. Electronic excitation spectra are recorded by monitoring the appearance of the fragment-ion channel(s) as the dissociation laser is tuned through electronic and/or vibronic resonances. Analysis of these new spectra yields vibrational constants, binding energetics and evidence for new photochemistry in these novel ion systems.