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Abstract
Ultra-small metal and metal-oxide clusters are produced in the gas phase with laser vaporization, coated with ligands, and captured in solution with the use of a laser vaporization flowtube reactor. Their properties were investigated with mass spectrometry, numerous spectroscopic methods, and computational chemistry. Observed chromium oxide clusters coated with acetonitrile ligands have stable metal-oxide stochiometries previously observed in gas phase experiments. Production and capture of aluminum clusters yields aluminum trimer with acetonitrile ligands as the primary clusters. Small aluminum oxides and larger aluminum clusters are also observed. Separate gas phase X-ray studies were performed to investigate cluster-ligand interactions. Ligand addition to cobalt clusters revealed drastic quenching of magnetic moments for both benzene and carbonyl ligands.