The kinetics of reactions of molybdenum clusters, Mo n, n=1–25, in the pressure range 0.4–4 Torr, and temperature range 270–380 K, have been investigated using a large-bore, He-buffered, fast-flow reactor equipped with a laser-vaporization source for the production of clusters. The reactor is designed to make kinetic measurements on neutral metal clusters in the gas phase under well-defined pressures and temperatures. We discuss a new version of the instrument in which LIF techniques, used previously to monitor atoms and dimers, are replaced by laser ionization, time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOFMS) in order to monitor larger clusters. The new version of the reactor has been tested against known reactions of Ti atoms. Examples of the reactor’s performance are taken from studies performed on Mon cluster reactivity. In particular we summarize some results on the dissociative chemisorption of molecular nitrogen, where large cluster-size effects are found. In some cases a negative-temperature dependence of the kinetics indicates the involvement of a precursor bound state and leads to conclusions concerning the shape of the potential-energy surface and how subtle changes associated with the cluster’s geometric structure might profoundly alter reaction rates.
Clustering and alpha-capture reaction rates from first-principle structure calculations for nucleosynthesis
