Laser ablation synthesis of arsenic–phosphide AsmPn clusters from As–P mixtures. Laser desorption ionisation with quadrupole ion trap time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry: The mass spectrometer as a synthesizer

• Published in: Rapid communications in mass spectrometry 2018-05, Vol.32 (10), p.789-800
• Main Authors: Kubáček, Pavel, Prokeš, Lubomír, Pamreddy, Annapurna, Peña‐Méndez, Eladia María, Conde, José Elias, Alberti, Milan, Havel, Josef
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arsenic; Clusters; Density functional theory; Desorption; Identification methods; Ionization; Ions; Laser ablation; Lasers; Mass spectra; Mass spectrometry; Phosphides; Quadrupoles; Scientific imaging; Spectroscopy; Stoichiometry; Synthesis
• ISSN: 0951-4198; 1097-0231
• DOI: 10.1002/rcm.8106

Rationale Only a few arsenic phosphides are known. A high potential for the generation of new compounds is offered by Laser Ablation Synthesis (LAS) and when Laser Desorption Ionization (LDI) is coupled with simultaneous Time‐Of‐Flight Mass Spectrometry (TOFMS), immediate identification of the clusters can be achieved. Methods LAS was used for the generation of arsenic phosphides via laser ablation of phosphorus–arsenic mixtures while quadrupole ion trap time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (QIT‐TOFMS) was used to acquire the mass spectra. Results Many new AsmPn± clusters (479 binary and 369 mono‐elemental) not yet described in the literature were generated in the gas phase and their stoichiometry determined. The likely structures for some of the observed clusters arbitrary selected (20) were computed by density functional theory (DFT) optimization. Conclusions LAS is an advantageous approach for the generation of new AsmPn clusters, while mass spectrometry was found to be an efficient technique for the determination of cluster stoichiometry. The results achieved might inspire the synthesis of new materials.