Ft-Icr Studies With Laser-Generated Supersonic Cluster Beams

Abstract

By using a combination of einzel lenses and deceleration grids, it is possible to inject cold molecular ions from a supersonic beam apparatus directly into the superconducting magnetic trap of a Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance (FT-ICR) spectrometer^1,2. The injection cycle may be repeated many times until the trap is “filled” with an adequate number of ions. Since the ion source is completely independent of the FT-ICR apparatus, and since the injection is mass-specific and nearly 100% efficient, these techniques may find wide application in the analysis and study of complicated molecules and clusters. Examples are given for the application of this new technique to the study of dissociative chemisorption on the surface of metal and semiconductor clusters, and to the study of the “soccerball” molecule, C₆₀ ⁺, and its metal-substituted complex, C₆₀La⁺.