US-Austria Cooperative Research: Production and Stability (Unimolecular Decay) of Singly and Multiply Charged vdW Cluster Ions

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This award supports Professor A. W. Castleman, Jr., of the Pennsylvania State University, for continued collaboration with Professor T. D. Maerk of the University of Innsbruck, Austria, to enhance his ongoing domestic research in chemical physics. These investigators share an interest in understanding the formation and chemistry of aerosols in the atmosphere. The focus of their collaboration is a study of the production, stability and reactivity of cluster ions of a wide variety of chemical systems produced by various techniques. The Austrian experiment uses electron impact ionization to produce cluster ions and can identify sequential decay processes, while the American lab uses photoionization and can investigate dissociation over a longer time. The American group employs time-of-flight mass spectrometric techniques, while the Austrian group uses a double focussing sector field mass spectrometer to study similar phenomena. The techniques are complementary and furnish different capabilities that result in a more complete description of the processes under consideration. Gas phase clusters comprised of weakly bound aggregates of either atoms and/or molecules often display properties that lie between the gas and condensed state. Studies of clusters are not only of value in terms of bridging the gas and condensed phase, but are also interesting since they comprise a new state of matter in which there is intense and growing interest from a fundamental point of view. Furthermore, they are also important due to their potential role in many fields of application and technology. This new and rapidly growing field requires and benefits from the application of a wide variety of experimental tools and the interaction of scientists coming from different disciplines. The proposed collaboration provides unique opportunities in both regards, as amply demonstrated by the productivity of their previous collaboration.