SIZE-DEPENDENT TRENDS IN THE SCATTERING OF SMALL POTASSIUM CLUSTERS BY WATER-MOLECULES

Scattering of small potassium clusters by water molecules has been stu died in a molecular beam experiment for the first time. In the size ra nge up to eight atoms, trends for cross sections have been obtained by investigating low energy collisions. Significant differences in relat ive cross sections can be assigned to inelastic collisions. As in case of scattering of sodium clusters by argon (Goerke, A. et al., J. Chem . Phys. 98, 9653 (1993)), rotational excitation of the clusters seems to be the dominating interaction.