Ions colliding with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon clusters

Abstract

We have measured the ionization and fragmentation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules and their clusters. We find that PAH clusters containing up to roughly 100 individual molecules fragment strongly following collisions with keV ions in low or high charge states (q). For both types of collisions, singly charged PAH molecules are found to be the dominant products but for very different reasons. A high-q ion projectile charge leads to strong multiple ionization of the PAH clusters and subsequent Coulomb explosions. A low-q ion projectile charge often leads to single ionization but stronger internal heating and long evaporation sequences with a singly charged PAH monomer as the end product. We have developed a Monte Carlo method for collision-induced heating of PAH clusters and present an evaporation model where the clusters cool slowly as most of the internal energies are stored in intramolecular vibrations and not in molecule–molecule vibrations.