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Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Photoelectron Imaging of Anions Illustrated by 310 Nm Detachment of F−
Published on: July 27, 2018
Photoelectron spectroscopy of nickel-benzene cluster anions
Weijun Zheng1, John M Nilles, Owen C Thomas
1Department of Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
Abstract:
(Nickel)(n)(benzene)(m) (-) cluster anions were studied by both mass spectrometry and anion photoelectron spectroscopy. Only Ni(n)(Bz)(m) (-) species for which n > or =m were observed in the mass spectra. No single-nickel Ni(1)(Bz)(m) (-) species were seen. Adiabatic electron affinities, vertical detachment energies, and second transition energies were determined for (n,m)=(2,1), (2,2), (3,1), and (3,2). For the most part, calculations on Ni(n)(Bz)(m) (-) species by B. K. Rao and P. Jena [J. Chem. Phys. 117, 5234 (2002)] were found to be consistent with our results. The synergy between their calculations and our experiment provided enhanced confidence in the theoretically implied magnetic moments of several nickel-benzene complexes. The magnetic moments of small nickel clusters were seen to be extremely sensitive to immediate molecular environmental effects.
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