화학공학소재연구정보센터
Journal of Physical Chemistry A, Vol.103, No.15, 2580-2591, 1999
Ultrafast dynamics of transition metal carbonyls. 3. Intracluster chemistry in [Cr(CO)(6)](n)
We report on one-color femtosecond-pump/probe experiments applied to homogeneous chromium hexacarbonyl clusters which are prepared in a molecular beam. The pump pulse initiates bimolecular intra-cluster reactions by ultrafast photodissociation of a CO ligand from Cr(CO)(6) in a T-1(1u) metal-to-ligand charge-transfer state. The resulting reaction products are detected mass-selectively after multiphoton ionization by the probe pulse. In contrast to nanosecond multiphoton ionization (Peifer, W. R.; Garvey, J. F. Int. J. Mass Spectrom. Ion Processes 1990 102, 1), which exclusively leads to appearance of the Crf mass peak, a number of novel species which may serve as interesting model systems for catalysis and surface chemistry are detected. In addition to mononuclear fragments, metal cluster ions, and coordinatively unsaturated polynuclear metal carbonyls, metal oxides and carbides are observed in the femtosecond mass spectra. The appearance of these species can be rationalized by formation of asymmetric pi-bridging CO ligands in the neutral manifold. The dynamics extracted from the transients of different reaction products is interpreted using concepts of surface and inorganic cluster chemistry. Ultrafast metal-metal bond formation on a time scale much faster than our laser pulse width (ca. 150 fs) can be observed. Site exchange of CO from terminal to bridging positions on the picosecond time scale is proposed to occur in coordinatively unsaturated polynuclear metal carbonyls. Experiments at different center wavelengths (280 and 262.5 nm) reveal energy-dependent reaction channels which are closed when exciting the clusters at 280 nm. When exciting at 262.5 nm, impulsive formation of the corresponding products and decay on the picosecond time scale is observed.