Gas-Phase Synthesis and Vibronic Action Spectroscopy of Ag₂H⁺

Abstract

We present the first vibrationally resolved electronic spectrum for the isolated silver hydride cation Ag2H+, which has been synthesized by multistage mass spectrometry in a quadrupole ion trap. The experimental photofragmentation spectrum has been obtained by action spectroscopy. High-level ab initio simulations reproduce experimental findings and provide precise assignment of structural properties of ground and excited electronic states of Ag2H+, which serves as an intermediate in important chemical reactions such as carbon−carbon coupling.