Far-infrared spectroscopy of isolated transition metal clusters

The vibrational far-infrared (IR) spectra of isolated metal clusters in the gas phase can be measured by performing photo dissociation spectroscopy of their rare gas complexes. For these experiments an intense and widely tunable source of far-IR radiation is required, and the Free Electron Laser for Infrared eXperiments (FELIX) is ideally suited for this. Vibrational spectra are obtained for vanadium cluster cations as well as for neutral and cationic niobium clusters. The comparison of the experimental vibrational spectra with theoretically calculated spectra allows for the determination of the structure of the metal clusters.