Journal of Physical Chemistry A, Vol.103, No.29, 5671-5674, 1999
Photofragmentation of vanadium oxide cations
Laser-induced fragmentation of mass-selected vanadium oxide cluster cations at 532 nm is investigated in a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. The major species observed in the initial mass distribution can be described as having a stoichiometry similar to bulk vanadium oxides, with some species possessing additional O-2 units bonded to the cluster. At low laser fluence, the major photofragmentation channel observed is the loss of O-2 or consecutive O-2 units from clusters that are oxygen rich. When the laser fluence is increased, additional fragmentation channels are observed. The majority of the clusters investigated, from V2O8+ to V6O16+, ultimately lose the necessary neutral fragments to form the product ions VO2+ and VO+. The results suggest that VO2 and VO have lower ionization potentials than larger vanadium oxide clusters.