Ionization and Coulomb explosion of small group 10 transition metal oxide clusters in strong light fields

The ionization properties of small group 10 metal oxide clusters are explored using ultrafast pulses centered at 624 nm. Maximum atomic charge states resulting from Coulomb explosion were observed to be Ni3+, Pd3+, Pt5+, and O2+ species with similar ionization potentials similar to 30-35 eV. Ion signal as a function of laser intensity of each charge state of Ni, Pd, Pt, and O resulting from Coulomb explosion was mapped and compared to that predicted from semi-classical tunneling theory using sequential ionization potentials to quantify observed enhancements in ionization. The saturation intensity (I-sat) of each charge state is measured and compared to previous studies on group 5 transition metal oxides. The atomic charge states of nickel showed a large enhancement in ionization compared to palladium and platinum, reflective of the differing bonding properties of each metal with oxygen. Results indicate that nickel oxide clusters undergo a greater extent of ionization enhancement as a result of multiple ionization mechanisms. The ionization enhancement behavior of each metal oxide species is explored herein. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4748139]