Photodissociation studies of calcium–coronene and calcium–pyrene cation clusters

Gas-phase cluster cations combining calcium atoms and the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) coronene (C24H12) and pyrene (C16H10) are produced in a molecular beam using laser vaporization in a pulsed nozzle cluster source. Time-of-flight mass spectrometry reveals the formation of clusters of the form Cax(coronene)y+ for up to x = 4 and y = 3 and Cax(pyrene)y+ for up to x = 2 and y = 3. Mass-selected photodissociation studies show that the calcium cation is the most prominent fragment for each system. Photoinduced calcium carbide formation is prominent when two or more calcium atoms are present. Additionally, there is evidence that these clusters can form sandwich structures.