(Noble Gas)n-NC+ Molecular Ions in Noble Gas Matrices: Matrix Infrared Spectra and Electronic Structure Calculations

An investigation of pulsed-laser-ablated Zn, Cd and Hg metal atom reactions with HCN under excess argon during co-deposition with laser-ablated Hg atoms from a dental amalgam target also provided Hg emissions capable of photoionization of the CN photo-dissociation product. A new band at 1933.4 cm(-1) in the region of the CN and CN+ gas-phase fundamental absorptions that appeared upon annealing the matrix to 20 K after sample deposition, and disappeared upon UV photolysis is assigned to (Ar)(n)CN+, our key finding. It is not possible to determine the n coefficient exactly, but structure calculations suggest that one, two, three or four argon atoms can solvate the CN+ cation in an argon matrix with C-N absorptions calculated (B3LYP) to be between 2317.2 and 2319.8 cm(-1). Similar bands were observed in solid krypton at 1920.5, in solid xenon at 1935.4 and in solid neon at 1947.8 cm(-1). (HCN)-C-13 reagent gave an 1892.3 absorption with shift instead, and a 12/13 isotopic frequency ratio-nearly the same as found for (CN+)-C-13 itself in the gas phase and in the argon matrix. The CN+ molecular ion serves as a useful infrared probe to examine Ng clusters. The following ion reactions are believed to occur here: the first step upon sample deposition is assisted by a focused pulsed YAG laser, and the second step occurs on sample annealing: (Ar)(2)(+)+CN -> Ar+CN+->(Ar)(n)CN+.