Niobium clusters: mechanism of combinatorial synthesis of sprayed metal cluster Nb_nO_m-

In the present work, we studied the dependences of the yield intensities of cluster ions (NbnOm() on the oxygen pressure in the bombardment chamber. An attempt was made, based on the analysis of experimental data, to substantiate that the formation, excitation, and molecular decay of atomized metal cluster ions NbnOm(underlie the model of the mechanism of combinatorial synthesis. In this case, the cluster ion acquires translational and internal energy (vibrational and rotational), sufficient for reverse decay, similar to how it occurs during the formation of complex ions in bimolecular gas-phase reactions.