title: Laser ablation generation of clusters from As-Te mixtures, As-Te glass nano-layers and from Au-As-Te nano-composites. Quadrupole ion trap time-of-flight mass spectrometry.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Arsenic tellurides have found important applications in various fields of science, but only a few gold-arsenic tellurides have been reported. Laser ablation synthesis (LAS), a suitable method for the generation of new compounds, has been used to generate clusters from As-Te mixtures, an As-Te glass and Au-As-Te nano-composites.
  
  
  METHODS
  Chalcogenide glass nano-layers prepared via Physical Vapour Deposition - thermal evaporation were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). LAS with laser desorption ionisation quadrupole ion trap time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LDI QIT TOFMS) was used for the generation and analysis of new AuxAsmTen clusters. The stoichiometry of the clusters was determined via isotopic envelope modelling.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A simple procedure for the preparation of the Au-As-Te nano-composite was developed. From As-Te mixtures only five binary AsmTen clusters were generated, while from a glass layer 10 binary AsmTen clusters were identified, because during the deposition of the glass the elements reacted with each other to form a complex three-dimensional (3D) structure. Using LAS on the Au-As-Te nano-composite leads to the formation of six unary Ten (n = 1-6), 16 binary (AsmTen and AuxTen), and 31 ternary AuxAsmTen clusters.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  LAS was demonstrated to be a useful technique for the generation of AuxAsmTen clusters in the gas phase. More AsmTen clusters were generated from the deposited glass layers than from As-Te mixtures. Most of the ternary AuxAsmTen clusters generated from the nano-composite are reported here for the first time.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Electronics, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37, Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Vlasta
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Štěpánová
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5/A14, 625 00, Brno, Czech Republic.|CEPLANT, R&D Centre for Low-Cost Plasma and Nanotechnology Surface Modifications, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37, Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Lubomír
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Prokeš
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Electronics, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37, Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Pavel
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Slavíček
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Electronics, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37, Brno, Czech Republic.|Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5/A14, 625 00, Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Milan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alberti
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Electronics, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37, Brno, Czech Republic.|Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5/A14, 625 00, Brno, Czech Republic.|CEPLANT, R&D Centre for Low-Cost Plasma and Nanotechnology Surface Modifications, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37, Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Josef
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Havel