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Abstract:
The structure and stability of mass-selected bisulfate, sulfuric acid, and water cluster anions, HSO4-(H2SO4)m(H2O)n, are studied by infrared photodissociation spectroscopy aided by electronic structure calculations. The triply hydrogen-bound HSO4-(H2SO4) configuration appears as a recurring motif in the bare clusters, while incorporation of water disrupts this stable motif for clusters with m > 1. Infrared-active vibrations predominantly involving distortions of the hydrogen-bound network are notably missing from the infrared multiple-photon dissociation (IRMPD) spectra of these ions but are fully recovered by messenger-tagging the clusters with H2. A simple model is used to explain the observed “IRMPD transparency”.