Magic Numbers in Molecular Clusters: A Probe for Chemical Reactivity

When neutral van der Waals clusters, produced in a supersonic expansion, are ionized the resulting cluster ion distribution can exhibit dramatic intensity anomalies for very specific cluster sizes. These 'magic numbers' typically result from a particularly stable cluster ion geometry generated by the completion of a full solvent shell around a central ion core. In this paper we will review our current work which employs magic numbers as a probe, not only of cluster ion structure, but also of chemical reactivity within these species. That is, the appearance of certain magic numbers can be attributed to unique cluster reactions occurring between the ion and the solvating molecules within the cluster.
Prepared for publication in Royal Society of Chemistry Chemical Society Reviews.