Loss of Ag3 moiety from clusters Agn+ (n = 4, 6, 8, 10, 12) upon collision induced dissociation

► The Agn+ ions were generated in the gas phase, by using LDI technique, from Ag(acac). ► CID MS/MS spectra of the Agn+ ions were performed. ► Ions Ag4+, Ag6+, Ag8+, Ag10+, Ag12+ loose Ag3 moiety (trimer evaporation). ► This result was not observed upon previous studies devoted to the Agn+ ions.