Photodissociation of silicon carbide cluster cations

Small clusters of silicon carbide (SixCy+,x=3-10,y=1-2) are produced by laser vaporization in a pulsed molecular beam and detected with time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Specific clusters are mass selected and photodissociated at 355 nm. Si3C+ is an especially abundant cluster in the mass spectrum, and it is produced often as a fragment from larger clusters, suggesting that it is relatively more stable than other small cations. The smaller clusters (Si3-5C+) fragment primarily by the loss of neutral Si atoms, while larger clusters (Si7-10C+) lose neutral Si2C and Si3C, which are concluded to be more stable neutrals.