Reaction between barium and N2O on large van der Waals clusters: progressive embedding of the BaO product inside argon and neon clusters

Abstract

When a chemical reaction occurs at the surface of a cluster, the product can either be ejected or remain solvated within the cluster. This paper deals with the dynamics of the solvated product on various van der Waals clusters. This investigation is conducted on the Ba + N₂O reactive system by probing the chemiluminescence of the BaO product, either immediately after the reaction, or a few tens of microseconds later. It is shown that the interaction between BaO and the solvent increases along the sequence neon, argon, methane and nitrogen. The effect of varying the interaction time between the cluster and the solvated product is all the more pronounced when the solvent–product interaction is weak. It is very likely related to progressive embedding of the product inside the cluster.