Formation of ternary Ag/Au/S clusters and sulfur-plus-gold sensitization in photographic process

Ag/Au/S ternary clusters were generated by laser ablation on Ag/Au/S mixtur es and detected with a time-of-flight(TOF) mass spectrometer. The results s how that Ag/S binary clusters, Au/S binary clusters, and Ag/Au/S ternary cl usters were produced simultaneously and that the main cluster series includ e (Ag2n+1Sn-1)(+), (Ag2n-1Sn)(-), (Ag2nAuSn)(+) and (Ag2nAuSn+1)(-). By cor relating them with sulfur-plus-gold sensitization centers in photographic e mulsions, the authors point out that the cluster cations and anions can act as photoelectron trap and positive hole trap, respectively.