Chemistry and kinetics of size-selected cobalt cluster cations at thermal energies. I. Reactions with CO

Abstract

The chemistry and kinetics of size-selected Co+n cluster-ion (n=2–8) reactions with CO are studied using a selected ion drift tube affixed with a laser vaporization source operated under well-defined thermal conditions. All reactions studied in the present work are found to be association reactions. Their absolute rate constants, which are determined quantitatively, are found to have a strong dependence on cluster size. Similar to the cases of reactions with many other reactants such as H2 and CH4, Co+4 and Co+5 display a higher reactivity toward the CO molecule than do clusters of neighboring size. The multiple-collision conditions employed in the present work have enabled a determination of the maximum coordination number of CO molecules bound onto each Co+n cluster. It is found that the tetramer tends to bond 12 CO molecules, the pentamer 14 CO, hexamer 16 CO, and so on. The results are interpreted in terms of Lauher’s calculation and the polyhedral skeletal electron pair theory. All the measured maximum coordination numbers correlate extremely well with the predictions of these theories, except for the trimer where the measured number is one CO less than the predicted value. The good agreement between experiment and theory enables one to gain some insight into the geometric structure of the clusters. Based on the present findings, the cobalt tetramer cation is interpreted to have a tetrahedral structure, the pentamer a trigonal bipyramid, and the hexamer an octahedral structure. Other cluster structures are also discussed.