15min:

D. L. ROBBINS, C. M. L. RITTBY AND W. R. M. GRAHAM, Department of Physics and Astronomy, TCU, Fort Worth,TX 76129.

The vibrational fundamentals and structures of novel germanium-carbon and mixed germanium-silicon-carbon clusters, formed by laser ablation and trapped in solid Ar, are currently under investigation. Vibrational fundamentals and ground state geometries are characterized by comparison of Fourier transform infrared measurements of vibrational frequencies and ¹³C isotopic shifts for the matrix isolated clusters with the predictions of density functional theory (DFT). Linear GeC₃Si has been detected, the first Ge_jC_mSi_n species to be observed optically, and its ₁ fundamental identified at 1939.0 cm^-1. The results are in excellent agreement with DFT predictions. Additional results and assignments for Ge_nC_m clusters will be reported.