PHOTOIONIZATION MASS SPECTROSCOPY OF CLUSTERS OF METAL ATOMS SOLVATED
WITH ACRYLONITRILE MOLECULES: ELECTRON TRANSFER FROM METAL ATOM

Keijiro Ohshimo, Fuminori Misaizu, and Koichi Ohno

Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University,
Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8578, Japan

We have investigated the photoionization mass spectroscopy of clusters
of metal atoms solvated with acrylonitrile molecules in order to obtain
the information of the size-dependent stability of the clusters.　 In
the photoionization mass spectra of clusters of alkali metal atoms (M)
solvated with acrylonitrile (AN), M(AN)n, strong ion signals are
observed for n = 3.　 This result is explained by the electron transfer
from alkali metal atoms to acrylonitrile molecules followed by anionic
polymerization of the molecules in the clusters.