Optical extinction spectra of the nanometer-size mixed (Fe)n(Mo)m metal clusters

We have recorded the optical extinction spectra of the nanometer-size mixed metal clusters (Fe)n(Mo)m in the wavelength range of 190-800 nm in water. The nanometer-size mixed metal clusters were produced by using the method which combined the thermal decomposition of the mixed Fe(CO)5 vapor / Mo(CO)6 vapor with the collision induced clustering between the decomposed neutral metal atoms. The optical extinction spectrum represented the smooth change from the optical extinction spectrum of the pure Fe metal clusters to that of the pure Mo metal clusters as the composition changed from the pure Fe metal clusters to the pure Mo metal clusters. We successfully reproduced the observed spectra by using the Mie theory and by using the volume averaged dielectric constants for the mixed metal clusters. (author)