Photofragmentation of (CO2)+n: Simple energy dependence for the number of neutrals ejected, 13<n<26

Ionic photofragmentation patterns of (CO2)+n, 2<n<26, are determined at 1064, 650, and 532 nm, and are found to be remarkably simple. The average number of neutral CO2 molecules lost increases smoothly with cluster size, approaching a constant value that depends linearly on the photon energy. A model for involving sequential loss of CO2 monomers is indicated, and the average CO2-cluster bond energy is found to be constant at 4.9 kcal/mol for n>13.