Sputtering and emission of nanoclusters under bombardment of gold nanodispersed targets by 1 MeV Au5 cluster ions

Nanodispersed gold targets (2–100 nm grains) were bombarded for the first time in the nuclear stopping region by 1 MeV Au5 cluster ions (∑(dE/dx)n = 45 keV/nm and (∑(dE/dx)e = 4.5 keV/nm in gold). The total yield of the ejected gold reached high values – up to ∼1.2 × 105  at./ion (Au5) for the grains with sizes comparable with the range of the 200 keV gold ions (∼18 nm). The size spectra of gold nanoparticles on the targets were compared with those of ejected gold nanoparticles collected on carbon foils supported by TEM grids. No gold nanoparticles larger than 35 nm appeared in the size spectra of the ejected nanoparticles.