Spectroscopy of acetonitrile (benzene)n clusters, n=1-3.: Comparison with benzene clusters

Well-resolved spectra of the small benzene clusters containing a single acetonitrile molecule (B(n)A) with n = 1-3 have been obtained by the tone-color) resonant two-photon ionization technique using benzene's B-2u <--A(1g)6(0)(1) spectral resonance, and compared with the spectra of neat benzene clusters. While only a single spectral feature is found for the benzene-acetonitrile (BA) complex, three distinct isomers are suggested for the B(2)A cluster, and two isomers for the B(3)A cluster. The R2PI spectra obtained, in conjunction with Monte-Carlo (MC) simulations and simple energetic arguments, provide a reasonably compelling picture of the dipole-containing nonpolar molecular cluster system. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.