Reactions of iron clusters with hydrogen. II. Composition of the fully hydrogenated products

Abstract

Reactions of iron clusters with an excess of hydrogen are found to yield fully hydrogenated products FenHm whose compositions remain fixed over a wide range of hydrogen pressures. For n=6 to 131, the observed m values are always even, have narrow ranges, and for many clusters are unique. Up to n=30, nearly stoichiometric 1:1 ratios of m to n are found. Above 30, cluster hydride compositions are consistent with a monolayer of chemisorbed hydrogen on the cluster surfaces. At sufficiently high hydrogen pressures additional hydrogens bind to the clusters, most likely as a second, physisorbed layer. The experimental results are discussed in terms of cluster structure and the relation to bulk iron behavior.