Threshold collision-induced dissociation of anionic copper clusters and copper cluster monocarbonyls

The threshold collision-induced dissociation method is applied to study the fragmentation patterns and to measure the dissociation energies of small anionic copper clusters (Cun−, n=2–8) and their monocarbonyls (CunCO−, n=3–7). For the bare clusters, the main reaction channels are loss of an atom and loss of a dimer. For the copper cluster monocarbonyls, the main channel is loss of CO. Dissociation energies for the loss of an atom from bare copper cluster anions, D0(Cun−1−–Cu), show even–odd alternation. The species with the highest dissociation energy, Cu7−, and the highest carbonyl desorption energy, Cu5CO−, have eight valence electrons, consistent with closed shells in the jellium model. Bond energies are compared with theoretical models.