Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 2, 2025

Analysis of Complex Molecules and Their Reactions on Surfaces by Means of Cluster-Induced Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometry
Published on: March 1, 2020
Shells in CO2 clusters
John W Niman1, Benjamin S Kamerin1, Vitaly V Kresin1
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-0484, USA.
Abstract:
Abundance spectra of (CO2) clusters up to N ≈ 500 acquired under a wide range of adiabatic expansion conditions are analyzed within the evaporative ensemble framework. The analysis reveals that the cluster stability functions display a strikingly universal pattern for all expansion conditions. These patterns reflect the inherent properties of individual clusters. From this analysis the size-dependent cluster binding energies are determined, shell and subshell closing sizes are identified, and cuboctahedral packing ordering for sizes above N ≈ 130 is confirmed. It is demonstrated that a few percent variation in the dissociation energies translates into significant abundance variations, especially for the larger clusters.
Related Concept Videos
Molecular Shapes
Two regions of electron density in a diatomic...
The Energies of Atomic Orbitals
Predicting Molecular Geometry
Molecular Orbital Theory II
Network Covalent Solids
To break or to melt a covalent network solid, covalent bonds must be broken. Because covalent bonds are relatively strong, covalent network solids are typically...
Covalent Bonds

