Optical properties of size selected neutral Ag clusters: electronic shell structures and the surface plasmon resonance.

We present optical absorption spectra from the ultraviolet to the visible for size selected neutral Agn clusters (n = 5-120) embedded in solid Ne. We compare the spectra to time-dependent density functional calculations (TDDFT) that address the influence of the Ne matrix. With increasing size, several highly correlated electron excitations gradually develop into a single surface plasmon.

Intense fluorescence of Au.

Ligand-protected Au clusters are non-bleaching fluorescence markers in bio- and medical applications. Here we show that their fluorescence can be an intrinsic property of the Au cluster itself. We find a very intense and sharp fluorescence peak located at λ=739.

Reaction-induced cluster ripening and initial size-dependent reaction rates for CO oxidation on Pt(n)/TiO2(110)-(1×1).

We determined the CO oxidation rates for size-selected Ptn (n ∈ {3,7,10}) clusters deposited onto TiO2(110). In addition, we investigated the cluster morphologies and their mean sizes before and after the reaction. While the clusters are fairly stable upon annealing in ultrahigh vacuum up to 600 K, increasing the temperature while adsorbing either one of the two reactants leads to ripening already from 430 K on.

Spectroscopy of 3, 4, 9, 10-perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA) attached to rare gas samples: clusters vs. bulk matrices. II. Fluorescence emission spectroscopy.

The interaction between 3, 4, 9, 10-perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA) molecules and solid rare gas samples is studied by means of fluorescence emission spectroscopy. Laser-excited PTCDA-doped large argon, neon, and para-hydrogen clusters along with PTCDA embedded in helium nanodroplets are spectroscopically characterized with respect to line broadening and shifting. A fast non-radiative relaxation is observed before a radiative decay in the electronic ground state takes place.

Spectroscopy of 3, 4, 9, 10-perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA) attached to rare gas samples: clusters vs. bulk matrices. I. Absorption spectroscopy.

The interaction between 3, 4, 9, 10-perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA) and rare gas or para-hydrogen samples is studied by means of laser-induced fluorescence excitation spectroscopy. The comparison between spectra of PTCDA embedded in a neon matrix and spectra attached to large neon clusters shows that these large organic molecules reside on the surface of the clusters when doped by the pick-up technique. PTCDA molecules can adopt different conformations when attached to argon, neon, and para-hydrogen clusters which implies that the surface of such clusters has a well-defined structure without liquid or fluxional properties.

Effect of the TiO2 reduction state on the catalytic CO oxidation on deposited size-selected Pt clusters.

The catalytic activity of deposited Pt(7) clusters has been studied as a function of the reduction state of the TiO(2)(110)-(1 × 1) support for the CO oxidation reaction. While a slightly reduced support gives rise to a high catalytic activity of the adparticles, a strongly reduced one quenches the CO oxidation. This quenching is due to thermally activated diffusion of Ti(3+) interstitials from the bulk to the surface where they deplete the oxygen adsorbed onto the clusters by the formation of TiO(x) (x ≃ 2) structures.