Comparison between Electron Diffraction Patterns of Ar, CH4 and N2 Clusters and Related Structures

Abstract

Clusters of Ar, CH₄ and N₂ are produced in a free jet expansion and studied by electron diffraction. Large clusters comprising several thousand molecules have a crystalline structure. Simple models have been constructed on the basis of the same fcc structure, with a particular attention paid to molecular motions in the case of N₂. Small clusters with a few ten molecules have an amorphous structure, namely the polyicosahedral structure which has been established previously for small Ar clusters.