Photoelectron spectroscopy of boron aluminum hydride cluster anions.

Boron aluminum hydride clusters are studied through a synergetic combination of anion photoelectron spectroscopy and density functional theory based calculations. Boron aluminum hydride cluster anions, BxAlyHz(-), were generated in a pulsed arc cluster ionization source and identified by time-of-flight mass spectrometry. After mass selection, their photoelectron spectra were measured by a magnetic bottle-type electron energy analyzer. The resultant photoelectron spectra as well as calculations on a selected series of stoichiometries reveal significant geometrical changes upon substitution of aluminum atoms by boron atoms.