Ionization, neutral acid clusters

With free jet expansion techniques, we have produced clusters of aqueous nitric acid (3 ), hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid (4, pure acetic acid ( 5), and sulfur dioxide (6). For analogy to buffering, the formation of clusters containing ammonia have also been examined. These have included ammonia with aqueous nitric acid (7 ), hydrogen sulfide (7J), and sulfur dioxide (8). The basic experiment involves expansion of vapor through a nozzle, collima-tion of the jet with a skimmer to form a well-directed molecular beam, and detection of clusters via electron impact ionization and quadrupole mass spectrometry. Some variations include the introduction of a reactive gas into vacuum near the expansion as described elsewhere (4, 8) and the implementation of an electrostatic quadrupolar field to examine the polarity of the neutral clusters. The electric deflection technique is described by Klemperer and coworkers (9). 

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