Photoelectron spectroscopy of naphthalene cluster anions

Mass spectrometric and anion photoelectron spectroscopic studies of homogeneous naphthalene cluster anions, (Nph)n=2–7−, were conducted to characterize the nature of their anionic cores. The smallest stable species in this series was found to be the naphthalene dimer anion. The vertical detachment energies of naphthalene clusters, n=2–7, were determined and found to increase smoothly with cluster size. By extrapolation, the vertical detachment energy of the isolated naphthalene molecule was found to be −0.18 eV, in agreement with its adiabatic electron affinity value from literature. The strong similarity between the spectral profiles of (Nph)2− and (Nph)1−(H2O)1 implied that (Nph)2− possesses a solvated monomeric anion core. All of the naphthalene cluster anions studied here were interpreted as having monomer anion cores.