The formation mechanism of clusters produced by laser ablation of solid sodium azide

The mass spectra of sodium azide (NaN3) cluster ions, produced by 532 nm laser ablation of a solid NaN3 sample, were measured by a time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometer. The spectra showed that most of the cluster ions could be ascribed to the following series: Nan−, (NaN3)n−, Na(NaN3)n−, N3(NaN3)n−, Nan+, Nan(NaN3)+ and Na2(NaN3)n+. According to the possible distribution of the ions, possible formation mechanisms of NaN3 clusters are proposed. (letter)