title: Experimental detection of tetranitrogen.
abstract: Tetranitrogen (N4), which has been the subject of great theoretical interest, has been prepared from the N4+ cation and positively detected as a gaseous metastable molecule with a lifetime exceeding 1 microsecond in experiments based on neutralization-reionization mass spectrometry. An examination of the geometry of N4+ and the fragmentation pattern of the (14)N2(15)N2 neutral molecule has revealed that the latter is characterized by an open-chain geometry with two distinct, closely bound N2 units joined by a longer weaker bond.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Studi di Chimica e Tecnologia delle Sostanze Biologicamente Attive, Università di Roma "La Sapienza," Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5-00185 Roma, Italy. fulvio.cacace@uniroma1.it
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cacace
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: de Petris
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Troiani