Photodesorption of alkali anions from alkali-halide cluster anions

Phys Rev Lett. 2003 Aug 15;91(7):073401. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.91.073401. Epub 2003 Aug 13.

Abstract

Using photoelectron spectroscopy, we have observed alkali anion photodesorption from alkali-halide cluster anions that contain two weakly bound electrons. In the alkali iodides, we have found this type of desorption in almost every (MI)(n)M- cluster we have studied (M=Na, K, Cs; n<9), although it depends on the probe laser frequency and cluster temperature. Using pump-probe techniques, we have shown that the process occurs on a picosecond time scale by way of an electronic excitation of the cluster's spin-paired electrons.